No one will die of food shortage, assures agriculture ministry

Kathmandu, October 2

The Ministry of Agriculture Development has said that it has enough food stocks   and that nobody would die of food shortage in the country.

At a meeting called by the Agriculture and Water Resources Committee of the Legislature-Parliament here today to take stock of the current status of the food security in the country, the MoAD gave such assurance.

According to Chairperson of the Committee Gagan Thapa, the meeting was called to take stock of the food security in the country following the blockade at border checkpoints from September 23.

Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Agriculture Bamdev Gautam said that though Nepal suffers food crisis occasionally due to the natural disaster like flood, drought and hailstorm that affect agriculture production, there is some 155,000 metric tonnes of food stock in the country.

Maize harvest usually takes place by September while millet harvest by October and rice by November.

Over 2,500,000 metric tonnes of rice is estimated to be produced in the country while 3,400,000 metric tonnes is consumed.

It shows that the country would face a shortage of around 800,000 metric tonnes of rice.

The DoAD has asserted that if Nepalis are to change their food habit and lessen their dependency on rice by adopting wheat products for one time meal, no one would die of food crisis.