Nepal’s Alarming Farm Produce Target Raises Concerns

Increasing the concerns of the Himalayan Nation, the Ministry of Agricultural Development revealed that Nepal will not be able to meet its production target for 2018-19.

The country will fail to meet its agricultural product target in accordance with the 14^th Agriculture Development plan.

Nepal projected an increased paddy harvest this year besides corn, paddy, and vegetables.

However, major items such as egg, fish, fruits, legume, meat, potato and wheat failed to meet their respective targets.

According to Ministry statistics, following are the products with their production performance in 2018-19:

• Nepal produced 3.08 million potatoes against the target of 3.25 million
• Wheat production stood at 1.94 million tons against the targeted 2.21 million tons
• Pulses with a total of 369,000 will fail to meet the target of 438,000 tons
• The amount of meat so far will not meet the target by 70,000 tons
• Alarmingly, milk and fish fail to meet the target margins by 509,000 tons and 12, 870 tons, respectively

Looking at the current situation, analysts say that the country’s attempts to curb the deepening trade deficit through milk and meat production will be futile.

Paddy and Vegetables Exceed Targets

Paddy performed exceptionally well when compared to last fiscal 2017-18. The total amount of paddy produced this year was 5.6 million metric tons compared to 5.1 million metric tons last year.

However, it fails to meet Nepal’s overall demand which stands at 6.1 million metric tons.

Ministry Secretary Yubakdhoj GC said that rains, timely arrangements for fertilizers, use of hybrid seeds and the minimal damage caused from natural disasters were the key contributors for the boost in paddy production.

Province 2 was the highest producer of paddy this year with a produce of 1.49 million metric tons, recording an increment of 209,000 metric tons.

In terms of vegetables, Nepal produced 4.1 million metric tons against the target 4 million metric tons. Let’s see if the country will be able to meet its target before the end of the fiscal year 2018-19.