Kathmandu, April 17

Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (MoALD) has formed a Rapid Response Team (RRT) to address issues related to agriculture sector during the lockdown period.

A meeting held today along with the ministers of land management, agriculture and cooperatives of all seven provinces has decided to form the RRT to sort out the issues that farmers and the agriculture industry have been facing during the lockdown.

Although the government has allowed the movement of vehicles carrying agricultural products, local governments have been failing to implement the decision in their respective areas. After receiving frequent complaints from stakeholders of not being allowed to transport their products, MoALD has decided to mobilise a team sort out these issues, said Hari Bahadur KC, spokesperson for MoALD.

The team comprises Spokesperson KC himself along with Banshi Sharma, director general of the Department of Livestock Services and Purna Bahadur Budha, a veterinarian.

Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Ghanashyam Bhusal urged all the provincial agriculture ministers to implement the government’s direction strictly in their respective provinces. The direction has stated that vehicular movement for the transportation of vegetables, fruits, meat items, milk, honey and eggs should be allowed. Likewise, vehicles carrying livestock and their feeds should be allowed to move even during the lockdown period. The minister has also urged the provincial ministers to allow transportation of seeds and fertilisers.

“Instead of making marketing convenient during such a crisis, it is getting worse in the country due to the lack of coordination among the stakeholders,” Minister Bhusal said. “Transportation of agriculture produces, fertilisers and livestock feeds has become difficult not only within the valley but across the country due to which farmers are worried.”

He further said that this is the right time to promote local products.

Farmers across the country are destroying their agricultural products as they have not been getting a market due to the coronavirus. Milk producers have also started throwing away their milk on the roads as a protest against the government for not securing a market for their products.