Under the new scheme, the government will encourage farmers in 15 districts - three each from five development regions - selected in the first phase by providing state support to open seed bank and provide them necessary logistics.
The districts selected for the special incentive are Sankhuwasabha, Ilam, Siraha, Sidhupalchowk, Dhading, Rautahat, Mustang, Gulmi, Nawalparasi, Jumla, Jajarkot, Banke, Bajhang, Doti and Kanchanpur.
As per the Community Seed Bank Directives introduced by the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, the government will provide 50 percent subsidy to farmers in the purchase of source seeds and chemical fertilizer for the production of improved seeds. The cabinet approved the directives recently.
“Farmers in the selected districts will also enjoy 100 percent subsidy in transportation of source seeds and purchase of seed packaging machine at the community level,” Dr Hari Dahal, spokesperson at MoAC, said.
However, the government has not fixed the number of communities that would benefit from the new incentives.
As per the directives, the government will provide Rs 1,000 per hectare as subsidy in the purchase of pesticide, herbicide and treatment of crop disease.
“Communities that produce seeds in over 15 square meters of land will also get subsidy in fertilizer and certified seeds under the incentive scheme,” added Dr Dahal.
To avoid shortage of funds for seed production, the government is providing a subsidy of Rs 1 million to each district selected under the first phase as District Seed Revolving Fund. Under the logistic support for the seed farmers, the government will provide 75 percent subsidy on total cost incurred while constructing permanent crop thrashing field and seed storages.
“Other logistic equipment such as weighing machine, moisture measuring machine, packaging machine and sack making machines will be provided free of cost by the government,” Dr Dahal said.
According to Dahal, farmers can sell the seeds to community seed banks and can buy back the seeds after paying 20 percent more than their selling price.
The government has also formed a taskforce led by senior crop development officer at the Crop Development Directorate for effective implementation of the directives.
Though Nepal Agriculture Research Council (NARC) has released over 141 varieties of certified seeds of different crops and vegetables, farmers have limited access to improved seeds. According to a recent report prepared by the MoAC, the rate of regular replacement of seeds among farmers is around 6 percent. Though farmers need around 15,000 tons of improved seeds annually, farmers hardly get around 4,000 tons.
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