Nearly a year after declaring fiscal year 2024/25 as the start of the “Agriculture Investment Decade,” the government has yet to finalize a guiding concept paper—raising concerns about the initiative’s momentum and strategic direction.

Announced in the national budget on May 28, 2024, the fiscal year 2024/25 was earmarked as the launch of a ten-year campaign aimed at mobilizing investments in agriculture through partnerships with the private sector, cooperatives, and development partners. 

The initiative, spanning 2024 to 2034, is expected to serve as a comprehensive national strategy to commercialize agriculture and reduce Nepal’s growing agro-trade deficit.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development had been tasked with preparing the concept paper by early 2025, outlining the roadmap, investment framework, and strategic programs for the decade. However, with less than three months remaining in the fiscal year, the document remains incomplete.

Hari Bahadur KC, joint secretary at the ministry said, “Delays in stakeholder consultations have hindered progress.”

Despite government claims of prioritizing the sector, data shows limited traction in financing. Banks and financial institutions (BFIs) have allocated just 8.5% of their total credit portfolio to agriculture—far below the government's target of raising private-sector investment in the sector to 15%. 

Meanwhile, the ministry admits there is little consolidated data on investments made by cooperatives.

The urgency of reform is underscored by Nepal’s agricultural trade deficit, which has reached Rs 163.53 billion. Officials point to the country’s persistent failure to commercialize agriculture and a rising trend of land abandonment as key factors.

According to ministry data, approximately 1.03 million hectares of arable land remain uncultivated. The 2021/22 Agricultural Census found that cultivated land had declined to 2.18 million hectares from 2.52 million hectares in 2011/12—a loss of around 300,000 hectares over a decade.

As the clock ticks on the first year of the declared decade, observers say the lack of a concrete strategy and implementation plan could undermine the initiative’s credibility and long-term impact.