Editorial»
Thought for food
KATHMANDU, JUN 29 -
Ashad 15 (June 29 this year) is normally a joyous occasion for Nepali farmers, traditionally celebrated by singing and dancing in the paddy fields and consuming a mixture of curd and beaten rice. But for the last few years, the celebratory mood among Nepali farmers has been subdued as the heavens have failed to open up on time. The problem has been especially acute this year as the onset of the monsoon has been severely delayed. With proper irrigation facilities limited to a tiny minority of farmers, most have to rely on the skies to meet the water needs of their paddy fields.
Rice, which constitutes 50 percent of the calorie intake of an average Nepali, is a serious business here—the celebration of Ashad 15 as National Paddy Day illustrates this fact. But despite measures taken to enhance yields—for instance, improving seed quality through bio-engineering - rice production has been declining in the last few years. As rice is the staple diet of most Nepalis, the shortfall resulted in a food deficit of 320,000 tonnes in 2009-10, double the deficit the previous year. In the same period there was an 11 percent decline in rice production.
Poor rainfall and absence of irrigation facilities are only a part of the problem. Even when the rains have been plentiful, producing under two metric tonnes per hectare, the fields have failed to meet the desired yield. Nepal’s rice productivity is among the lowest in the region. One of the reasons for the shortage of food grains is that most farmers, out of ignorance or of their own will, produce just enough to make their ends meet. Despite mounting pressure on farmers to increase their productivity as arable land continues to shrink due to rapid urban expansion, there is little incentive for them to scale up production to meet rising demand.
Their Indian counterparts just across the border enjoy heavy government subsidies, in everything from seeds to fertilisers to agricultural tools. The Indian government has also fixed a basic minimum price for rice. In comparison, Nepali farmers get far less help from their government, thereby increasing the price of their product and decreasing its competitiveness both at local and Indian markets.
But instead, the Nepali government cut fertiliser subsidies when farmers were most in need and has failed to exhibit the desired level of commitment to secure a market for Nepali rice producers.
Thus while the state has no control over the skies, there are some steps which can be taken. As the country faces an unprecedented food shortage, it is almost incredible to think that only a couple of decades ago, the country exported 300,000 tonnes of rice a year. Boosting agriculture productivity to regain self-sufficiency is reportedly one of the main focuses of the upcoming budget. In the process, it has plenty to learn from India which has managed to strike a delicate balance between ‘inefficient’ government subsidies and increasing the country’s food security.
Posted on: 2010-06-30 12:34
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