Kathmandu, October 24

Secretary of Ministry of Agricultural Development today said Nepal was set to attain self-sufficiency in rice production within two years.

Speaking at the second review and planning workshop on USAID-funded project ‘Accelerating adoption of stress-tolerant rice varieties by smallholders farmers in Nepal and Cambodia’ organised by the MoAD, Nepal Agricultural Research Council and Philippines-based International Rice Research Institute, Agriculture Secretary Uday Chandra Thakur said, the government plans to launch programmes to increase rice production within two years.

He said farmers need to adopt climate smart rice varieties to increase production. He further said that the ASTV project would supply quality seeds for increasing rice production.

Secretary Thakur informed that the new varieties supplied by the project have given a huge relief to farmers across the country.

Dr Yubak Dhoj GC, director general, Department of Agriculture said the ASTV project was initiated by USAID under the banner of Feed the Future to ensure food security.

He stated that the major objectives of the project was to minimise poverty, hunger and increase the income of poor families by distributing drought tolerant improved seeds. The ASTV project is running in four districts of western, ten districts of mid-western and six districts of far-western regions.

He informed that the government had released/recommended eight rice varieties for rice farming in Nepal.

Of them, six varieties have been recommended for drought-prone areas and two varieties for flood-prone areas.

Commission for farmers on cards

KATHMANDU: The Agricultural Development Ministry has begun preparations to form National Farmers Commission. The ministry has prepared a draft of the National Farmers Commission and Operation Order – 2073 BS which envisages forming a seven-member commission to promote agriculture and protect the rights and interests of farmers. Programmes on managing the market for agro-products, operating agro-products processing plants, establishing research centres to boost agricultural production and agriculture education will be run once the commission is formed, said Spokesman for the ministry Yogendra Karki:-RSS