UML draws attention to address farmer's woes

The Central Agriculture and Livestock Department of the CPN (UML) has prepared a draft with a vision of the activities to be carried out by the government in the short-term and long-term in the agriculture sector of the country.

The Department submitted the draft to the party leaders and the Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Development, Jwala Kumari Sah.

A meeting held under the chair of Department Chief Girdhari Lal Neupane, at the party office today in presence of party chair KP Sharma Oli, general-secretary Shankar Pokhrel, and Minister Sah drew serious attention of the government towards protest launched by farmers across the country including vegetable producers of Chitwan, Kathmandu, and Ramkot.

Deputy-Chair of CPN (UML) Publicity Department, Bishnu Rijal, said the Agriculture and Livestock Department of the party drew the government's attention for the formulation of program and policy-level reform as the role of the agriculture sector was significant to fulfilling national aspiration, Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepali'.

The Department suggested ensuring a smooth supply of chemical fertilizer, an alternative arrangement of chemical fertilizer by establishing modern compost plant manufacturing centers, an arrangement of identicardsard by carrying out identification, and classification of farmers, determination of the minimum price of agro-products, and arrangement of market.

Similarly, it also demanded effective regulation of the agro-product related markets, to give priority to the sale and distribution of local products in the agro market, and to minimize the supply chain between farmers and businessmen.

Department Chief Neupane said they urged to construct food storage with the facilitation of local government to store productions produced at a local level, as well as encouraging farmers to cultivate crops, able to be stored, around the cold storage established with private investment.

Demanding effective coordination among the three tiers of governments-- the federal government to formulate policy, province government to hand over technology, and local government to run agriculture development activities, the Department expressed concern over the activities of displacing farmers due to agro products being imported from the neighboring countries.