India's recent decision to impose a ban on the export of sugar is likely to affect Nepal's domestic market, including those industries that use sugar as a raw material. Nepal is heavily dependent on sugar imports from India, which is the second largest sugar producing country after Brazil. Following the outbreak of war between Ukraine and Russia on February 24, many countries, including India, have taken protectionist measures to stabilise prices of consumptive commodities in the domestic markets. India is also mulling over imposing a partial ban on the export of wheat, citing its shortage in the domestic market. International media outlets have already warned of an acute shortage of wheat supply due to the war in Ukraine. Most African and even some European countries have said they have stocks of wheat only to sustain them for 50 days in their warehouses.

India's ban on sugar export will affect the supply chain, resulting in price hike and black marketing.

There are more than a dozen sugar mills in the country producing around 130,000 metric tons of sugar annually whereas Nepal's annual sugar consumption stands at around 270,000 tons. Until a decade ago, Nepal used to produce as much as 280,000 tons of sugar annually, which was enough to meet the local consumption. However, sugar production has declined in recent years because of the non-payment of dues to the sugarcane farmers by most of the sugar mills owners. The government provides a subsidy of Rs 70 per quintal of sugarcane to the farmers. But the farmers have stopped growing sugarcane after the mill owners did not pay them their dues in time, resulting in a fall in sugarcane production and, consequently, sugar in the domestic market. Most farmers in the eastern part have switched to other less lucrative crops because of the mill owners' failure to pay them in time.

While presenting the government's policies and programmes on Tuesday, President Bidhya Devi Bhandari said the government would make huge investments in agriculture through various reforms. As the shortage of sugar, edible oil and wheat is looming large due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, which has badly disrupted the supply chain, the government and the business community must come together to make tremendous investments for agriculture growth so that the country could become self-sufficient in cereals, meat and fish, edible oil, vegetables and milk. The government policy of ensuring food security and food sovereignty should not be shortlived.

We have already realised that any disruption in the supply chain in any part of the world will have a direct impact on our daily life. Instead of looking for an alternative to fulfill the shortage of sugar due to India's export restriction, the government must encourage our farmers to grow more sugarcane by offering them additional incentives. Simply providing subsidies to the farmers is not enough. The government must also guarantee that the sugar mill owners will pay them in time. The government's policy announcement of 'Made in Nepal' and 'Make in Nepal' cannot be translated into action unless the government supports all engaged in the productive sectors, be it in agriculture or manufacturing.

Textbook shortage

The new academic session has begun in the schools across the country, but there is a shortage of textbooks in the market. The reason for the shortage is that Janak Education Material Centre (JEMC) has been unable to print the textbooks because it was preoccupied with printing the ballot papers for the local level elections held on May 13. Students studying in government schools get free textbooks, but they are unavailable even when parents are willing to pay. It is not known when the textbooks will be available of if they will cover all the subjects taught in school.

This is not the first time there has been a shortage of school textbooks in the market. It is a problem that has been there for ages, with schools in the hinterlands getting textbooks almost half way through the academic year. Neither the government nor the JEMC seems to show any urgency to solve the problem. Instead the latter is making one excuse after another for its lapses. Perhaps, the community schools should introduce a system of renting out books instead of distributing them for free. This way, a textbook, if printed on quality paper, could be used over several years, which would save the government a lot of money.

A version of this article appears in the print on May 27, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.