New Agriculture Strategy : Stakeholders urge government to devise farmer-friendly plans
KATHMANDU, MAR 16 -
Farmers associations affiliated to political parties and civil society have urged the government to immediately stop the process of drafting the new Agriculture Development Strategy (ADS), saying it is not in favour of the country’s agriculture sector and the farmers.
At a meeting of stakeholders at the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MoAC) on Thursday, they threatened to obstruct the implemention of the ADS if their concerns were not addressed in the new strategy. They also demanded that the issue be discussed at the parliament. “All the process conducted as of now should be reviewed and stop the writing of the draft,” they said.
With Agriculture Perspective Plan (APP) failing to yield the desired results in the farming sector, the government is working on the ADS that is expected to supersede the APP by 2015. Almost half of the works has been completed as of now. “We cannot accept the ADS drafted under the foreign consultant,” said Netra Timilsina, president of NGO Federation of Nepal, questioning over the accountability. “The draft has also excluded the consent of the political parties.”
Chitra Bahadur Shrestha, chairman of All Nepal Peasants´ Association (ANPA), the Maoist peasants´ wing and Prem Dangal, secretary-general of the All Nepal Peasants Federation, an umbrella group of different 25 farmers’ organizations, alleged that the government has failed to include consultation of farmers’ association in the new draft. Representatives of Nepal Peasants Association, Nepal Peasants Federation, and ForestAction Nepal among others were also present in Thursday’s meeting.
After two-hour long discussion, Agriculture Minister Nandan Kumar Datta committed to honour the aspiration and demand of the farmers in the ADS. “It was an ‘eye opener’ for me,” one of the representatives quoted Datta as saying. “I promise to prepare the draft in line with farmers’ demand and aspiration.” Datta has assured that the ministry would review the draft before Nepali New Year.
The ADS is being drafted keeping in mind the fundamental changes that have taken place in the last few years which the APP has not envisioned. It will incorporate new issues that have emerged since, such as climate change, food security, out-migration of youth and decentralisation, inclusion and governance. The government and the donors have invested Rs 160 million for the new agriculture strategy. There are over three dozen national and international consultants working to prepare the ADS.
The ADS being drafted with the assistance of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) will outline detailed programmes for the next 10 years where all the potential projects will be identified for private sector investment and donor agencies, among other development agencies.
The government issued the APP in 1995 as a 20-year vision and strategy for agriculture-led growth and implemented it in 1997. The APP recognized the agricultural sector as a motor to power the economic growth and was formulated with a view to put the agricultural sector on a sustainable high-growth path. However, the plan failed to achieve the desired impact because of little investment support, lack of effective leadership and coordination and inconsistent policies related to subsidies.
Source: Kantipur
