Mechanisation, commercialisation stressed for agro development

Agriculture experts have stressed the need for mechanisation and commercialisation of the agriculture sector and paying attention to good storage facilities and marketing to enhance the production of agro-based products.

In a webinar organised today by the Renewable Energy Confederation of Nepal (RECON), the participants also opined that we could yield abundantly from agriculture provided considering factors of equipping human resources with skills development and devise hassle-free procedures for the farmers to obtain grants and loans.

They also opined that agro-production could be augmented considering the usage of organic manure, reusing kitchen waste to produce manure, solar-powered irrigation facilities (renewable energy) in those places lacking regular irrigation facilities among others.

Former Minister Ganesh Shah said that technology and equipment should be provided to farmers in a subsidized rate and farmers’ capacity should be enhanced to achieve bumper yield.

For processing, drying and storing agriculture products, one should prioritize usage of renewable energy such as micro-hydro plants, solar energy mini-grid, wind energy, solar PV, solar thermal among other technologies that were easily available in the rural sectors, said Shah.

Likewise, Alternative Energy Promotion Centre’s executive director Madhusudan Adhikari highlighted the need to hold high-level discussions and dialogue for optimizing renewable energy technology and benefiting as many as people.

Youth entrepreneur duo Kushal Gurung and Abhisekh Malla presented a paper about solar-powered irrigation facilities and their usage and prospects in an agricultural country like Nepal.

In the virtual seminar chaired by RECON’s President Gunaraj Dhakal, participants included agriculture expert Dr Sudha Sapkota, energy expert Dr Indira Shakya, Kathmandu University (KU)’s Assistant Profession Dr Sunil Lohani, Nepal Biogas Promotion Association’s President Prakash Chandra Subedi and Solar Electric Manufacturers Association Nepal’s Association’s Indra Khanal who illustrated on the advantages of renewable energy in the agriculture sector.