Kathmandu, September 17:

Agriculture specialists have held the Nepali media squarely responsible for neglecting the agricultural sector and failing to give coverage to issues relating to this sector. Speaking at an introductory programme of Nepal Agricultural Journalists’ Association (NAJA) here yesterday, Nepal Agriculture Research Council (NARC) spokesperson Dr Bhola Man Singh Basnet said that all research projects of NARC should be made public. The agriculture sector was lagging behind as the government had failed to use the media to bring benefits to it, Basnet said.

Basnet added that the Nepali media had continuously neglected the agriculture sector, adding that NAJA could play a crucial role in promoting the flailing sector.

Damodar Kandel of Action Aid Nepal said NAJA should focus on preserving traditional agricultural skills and knowledge by documenting them and secure food security in the remote areas of the country. “NAJA should take the initiative to publish an agriculture news bulletin and make it available throughout Nepal, as the national newspapers do not give priority to agriculture,” spokesperson of Agricultural Development Bank Arjun Bista said. During the function, Shambhu Bahadur Pandey and Nanu Jha of NARC, member secretary of National Agriculture Research Development Fund Tek Bahadur Thapa, acting director general of Food Technology and Quality Control Department Dr Amriteswori Rajbhandary and Juddha Prasad Bajracharya discussed ways in which NAJA could promote agriculture in Nepal.