Agriculture Committee Urges Staying with Energy Ministry

The Agriculture, Cooperatives and Natural Resources Committee under the House of Representatives has demanded that the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation make arrangements for it to function under the Ministry's jurisdiction.

The meeting of the Committee convened here Sunday decided to request the Speaker of the House for the same since, the Committee acknowledges, the overall improvement of the agriculture sector would be challenging without irrigation.

The meeting presided by the Committee Chairperson Dr Arzu Rana Deuba also decided to take stock of the issues, such as institutional development and responsibilities of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development as well as Ministry of Land Management and Cooperatives in the next meeting.

The Committee which recently got its leadership also decided to write a letter to the concerned ministries to appraise it about the status of implementation of the instructions given to the government within seven days in writing.

The meeting was also for holding extensive and detailed discussions with the stakeholders on the possibilities of the marijuana farming for medicinal purpose, its multi-use as well as giving legal recognition to its production, processing and distribution.

The Committee members earlier had suggested giving legal recognition to marijuana farming and its production terming it as a multipurpose herbal plant.

On the occasion, Member Binita Kadayat said that quality marijuana plants were found in Karnali region and viewed that we could revitalize the country's economy by marketing it.

Committee President Rana pointed out the need for more intellectual discussions on the marijuana and its usage as the issue was mentioned in the budget statement as well.

The meeting touched on issues, such as addressing monkey and warthog menace, resolving problems facing workers in agriculture, mitigating carbon emission, and land plotting, among others.