Agro the Answer- By Anup

Every naïve Nepali youth has three common dreams. First, they apply to European countries and the US for study and stay. Second, they fight for jobs in the government sector. Third, many more fly to the Middle East and Malaysia to work as low-wage earners, some venture into their own small and medium scale businesses, and a very few continue to engage in agricultural activities like their ancestors.

Why is farming at the bottom of the list? The answer is  crystal clear: The agricultural area, though oft termed as a major occupation of a majority of the Nepali people with a significant share in the GDP, has long been neglected as a good income source. And again why is it so? It is because we have remained far from increasing investment and high-yield, commercial agriculture.

Sometimes, I feel Nepal is a bus park with a maximum number of Nepalis waiting for their turn to flag down the vehicles that will ferry them to their dreamland country. No youths see opportunities in the country. In my perception, all this brain drain and labour outflow is growing due to out disinterest in developing agriculture. Nepal is culturally prosperous, geographically generous and has agriculturally advanced avenues ahead. But what we need to do is focus, fund and follow them technically and commercially. The most untapped and rarely harnessed area is agriculture unlike tourism and hydropower. We are taught to grow potato and sell it for Rs 15 per kg commercially, but we don’t know how to sell potato chips for Rs 45 per packet made from less than a quarter kg of potato. We are encouraged to start dairy farms, but we do not have plans to earn the most from it except for selling milk on a per litre basis. We cultivate ginger in great quantities, unfortunately we do not have final goals. So we rely wholly on the price fixed by India and overseas countries. To overcome these obstacles, we must concentrate on farming academically, mechanically and commercially.

One day, migration to the developed Western countries and Japan is going to end after India and China become more developed than them. When that happens, our youths will not find work in Indian and China as they aren’t going to hire migrant workers from neighbouring countries as they have adequate manpower of their own. Likewise, the Middle East and Malaysia will stop hiring migrant workers after their construction phase ends. Where then will our youth find employment? In agro production, trekking, tourism and hydro harnessing.

Given the provision of agro loans and insurance by government and private sector banks and financial institutions, we can make our agro dream come true commercially. Lastly, what I would like to opine is that agriculture must be the epicentre of the economy, agenda of politics, avenues of policies, need of the country and goal of this generation.

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