Increase in agricultural production and productivity

According to the participants, agricultural production and productivity have increased after the Prime Minister's Agriculture Modernization Project was launched.

This was stated by the participants at the second quarterly and half-yearly progress review seminar organized by the Provincial Implementation Unit of the project, Morang at the Agri-Professional Promotion Support and Training Center at Jhumka, Sunsari. The project, which is being implemented by determining super zones, zones, blocks, and pocket areas, has been found to have expanded small-scale irrigation, seeding, processing, mechanization, group formation, and wheel farming. In order to produce more at a lower cost, the project provides subsidies to farmers, assistance in mechanization, assistance in other tools such as power tillers, tractors for digging the field, and technical knowledge.

The head of the project, Binod Mandal, said that there are rice super zone one, cardamom zone five, maize zone three, potato zone, two, vegetable zone five, orange zone five and ginger turmeric zone three in the state. He informed that Rs. 31,000 has been spent. He clarified that there are 52 blocks of agriculture and 29 blocks of livestock in the state, adding that there should be policy, technical and managerial reforms in the implementation of the project.

Baualal Chaudhary, chief of the Tehrathum and Dhankuta project units, said that oranges worth Rs 987.52 million and cardamom worth Rs 162 million were produced in the second quarter of the current fiscal year. Chief of the project implementation unit Sankhuwasabha Lakshya Bahadur Chaudhary said that 2,250 hectares of cardamom and 900 hectares of oranges have been planted in the district. He suggested going to the super zone in cardamom here too.

Chief of the Project Implementation Unit, Jhapa, Rabindra Subedi said that the tradition of collective farming has increased from the project. He said that the expansion of lemon cultivation and construction of fish pond on the waste land in Koshi area was the achievement of the project.

On the occasion, Dr. Jit Chand, Senior Agriculture Officer, Project Management Unit, Khumaltar, urged all to fulfill their responsibilities as the project aims to make Nepali people self-sufficient in food and create ample employment.