Within 100 days of formation of the incumbent government, around 150,000 new farmers have been registered in the government's database. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, the total number of registered farmers now stands at 1.933 million. The ministry's progress report highlights that the procedure for distributing farmer ID cards is currently awaiting approval.
According to sources at the ministry, the government is preparing to procure 460,000 metric tons of fertilizers from the budget allocated for the current fiscal year. So far, 155,000 metric tons of chemical fertilizers have been imported, and 129,000 metric tons—including last year's stock—have been sold and distributed to the farmers.
The ministry is preparing to submit a revised proposal for the approval of the Fertilizer Distribution Management Guideline, 2077, to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs with the aim to streamline the process for selling and distributing subsidized fertilizers.
Last fiscal year, the government released Rs 1.449 billion to pay farmers for the sale and crushing of sugarcane in eight districts of Madhes Province. The ministry added that the government has already approved subsidy on crop and livestock insurance premium for 2081 and is currently being implemented. During this period, 37,611 livestock insurance policies and 323 crop insurance policies were issued.
To ensure food hygiene and quality, authorities monitored and inspected 2,746 markets and tested 13,061 samples of fruits and vegetables at customs checkpoints for pesticide residues, the ministry further stated.
On September 25, Agriculture Minister Ramnath Adhikari formed an eight-member task force under the National Farmers Commission's member secretary. This task force is responsible for preparing an action plan to restructure and improve the Dairy Development Corporation. The government has released a subsidized loan of Rs 600 million to the state-owned DDC for the purpose of paying the farmers their dues, states a report prepared by the agriculture ministry. -- RSS