PM, DPM miss PAC meet on agriculture sector

KATHMANDU, Aug 3: Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal and Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bharat Mohan Adhikary failed to attend a crucial meeting organised by Parliament´s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to discuss issues related to the agricultural sector. The meeting was however attended by the Agricultural Minister and Chief Secretary among other top government officials.

In the meeting, PAC directed the government to immediately relocate security camps occupying over half a dozen agricultural research centers for last one decade. [break]

Located in different parts of the country, these research centres have been badly hit due to police culture taking over the academic environment in these essentially educational campuses.

Agriculture Secretary Uma Kant Jha informed the PAC meeting that Nepal Army has been occupying agricultural research centers in Khairanitar of Tanahu and Nawalpur of Sarlahi whereas Armed Police Force (APF) has been occupying research centers in Bhandara of Chitwan, Malepatan of Pokhara, Janakpur of Dhanusa, Kirtipur of Kathmandu, and Gaur of Rautahat districts.

PAC meeting on Wednesday took the decision amid mounting pressure from law makers and requests from government officials to relocate the security camps which were set up during the Maoist insurgency.

The PAC meeting on Wednesday was scheduled to discuss an entire gamut of agricultural issues and had summoned Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bharat Mohan Adhikari, Agriculture Minister Hari Narayan Yadav, Chief Secretary Madhav Prasad Ghimire, Finance Secretary Krishana Hari Baskota and Agriculture Secretary Jha in Wednesday´s meeting to know government´s plans and policies for commercialization of the agriculture sector.

PM Khanal and DPM Adhikari didn´t show up in the meeting.

PAC´s To-Do List for Govt

Remove security camps from agricultural research centres

End shortage of seeds, fertilizers, farm implements

Open fruit & vegetables market at Manahara in Bhaktapur

Set up a fertilzer factory to ease supply constraints

The PAC meeting instructed the Prime Minister´s Office and Council of Ministers, Agriculture Ministry and National Planning Commission to immediately introduce special programs to end the shortage of seeds, chemical fertilizers and farm implements. It also asked the government to open new fruit and vegetables market in Manahara of Bhaktapur in view of over congestion at the Katlimati wholesale market.

At the meeting, Chief Secretary Ghimire complained that government´s repeated attempts in the past to vacate landless settlers on the land proposed for fruits and vegetable market in Manahar, failed due to lack of cooperation from political parties.

In the current budget, the government has announced to set up a 100-MW hydropower project specially meant to supply power to the proposed chemical fertilizer factory in the country. According to Agriculture Secretary Jha, total annual supply of chemical fertilizers stands at 300,000 tons against the demand of 580,000 tons.

To mitigate the rising supply deficit of chemical fertilizers in the country, PAC directed the government to initiate the process for setting up a factory to produce chemical fertilizers in the country. Similarly, PAC issued instructions to further intensify government plans with adequate budget and required human resources.

Chief Secretary Ghimire said it is high time the government reviewed the 20-year Agriculture Perspective Plan (APP) introduced in 1995, incorporating scientific land use policy for proper utilization of land as per its nature.

On the occasion, Finance Secretary Baskota said growth of the agriculture sector has not been as expected because the allocated budget for the sector remained under-spent.