‘Corruption in MoAD affecting agro programs’

KATHMANDU, July 12:

Chairman of Agriculture and Water Resources Committee of the parliament Gagan Thapa has said that many agro programs could not achieve targeted goals in fiscal year 2014/15 due to corruption in Ministry of Agriculture and Development (MoAD) and misuse of authority by the ministry officials.

He also said most of the programs aimed at farmers were not practical.

Speaking at an interaction organized by Nepal Agriculture Journalists Academy (JONAA) on Sunday, Thapa said: "There is massive irregularity in MoAD. The government had allocated Rs 1 billion in 2014/15 to provide agro loans for youths at 6 percent interest rate. However, the ministry could lend only Rs 117,000."

Speaking at the program, former finance minister Bharat Mohan Adhikari said the government failed to launch programs targeting small farmers. "We have the habit of asking money with donors to improve Nepal's agriculture from the base level and help small farmers," Adhikari said, adding, "However, the received financial assistance, which is meant for small farmers, never reaches to them."

Adhikari also suggested to the government to take loans and subsidy programs to small farmers through proper and effective channel so that local farmers can be benefited. "Small farmers have low access to banks and financial institutions (BFIs)," Adhikari said, adding that targeted goals of all such programs can never be achieved unless the programs are mobilized through proper mechanism.

Similarly, another former finance minister Barsha Man Pun said that that government's programs could not become successful due to involvement of middlemen with vested interest. "I have seen many people, who are not engaged in farming, claiming subsidy and incentives announced for farmers," he added. Pun lamented that most of the small farmers do not have land even though around 48 percent of agriculture land in the country is left unused.

Source: Republica