The three tiers of the government need to work in tandem to find other ways out to provide the needed skill to the returnee migrants

Creating job opportunities for youths in rural areas and urban centres has always been a major challenge for the government. It has been more pronounced following the COVID-19 pandemic that has left millions of people jobless within the country and abroad, which used to be the major source of income for the rural population. It has been almost one year since the outbreak of the pandemic, and every sector from education and tourism to export and import has been hit hard due to the surge in COVID-19 infections followed by prolonged lockdowns worldwide. Nepal Rastra Bank and major donor agencies have already predicted that Nepal’s overall economy will see a negative trend if the government does not take drastic measures to revive the crippled economy by creating more jobs within the country. While presenting the annual budget in May, the then finance minister, Yuba Raj Khatiwada, had vowed to create more jobs within the country by mobilising resources, especially in the agriculture sector, which, has till date, received the least priority from all governments. The country imports foodstuffs worth billions of rupees annually, while our fertile farmlands remain fallow for lack of workforce, skills and technology.

It is not that the government is doing nothing to create jobs for the aspiring youths for lack of data of unemployed people. The federal government does have upto date data about the number of jobless people. As per the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security (MoLESS), more than half million people are jobless. Following the spike in COVID-19 cases, the government rescued as many as 132,825 migrant workers from abroad. But a few hundred people, totaling 1,022, have received labour permits from among the 7,839 people who had applied for the same. This shows that jobs are also not available in other countries. Therefore, the main challenge here is to identify the sort of skills the youths possess and see where they can be adjusted. The local levels could help in collecting data about the actual status of the youths living in the concerned local levels.

Most of the returnee migrants also do not have any kind of skills that can be used domestically. It is, therefore, the government’s duty to provide them jobs with skill-based training. The Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT), which provides short-term training to around 50,000 youths every year, cannot address the present demand for skill-based training to all. So the three tiers of government need to work intandem to find other ways out to provide training to the returnee migrants.

More than that, the local levels can conduct a scientific study of the geographical or climatic conditions of their given areas, where specific crops can be grown on a large scale by using the skills available and modern technology. Based on this study, the local and sub-national governments can motivate the youths to engage in specific sectors of agriculture or livestock farming. First of all, we need to know about the geographical diversity that we have and, then, develop an agriculture plan accordingly. Once the youths obtain need-based skill, they will find work on their own.

Lucrative fruits

In recent years, farmers are increasingly taking up cultivation of fruits and vegetables hitherto not grown in Nepal. Kiwi, avocado and dragon fruits are just some of the new fruits that have found favour with local farmers and entrepreneurs. Nepal’s varied climate over a stretch of just 200 kilometres as we move south to north support the cultivation of a wide variety of fruits, vegetables and crops. That we are not doing much to take advantage of nature’s generosity is quite another matter, though. These relatively new fruits could be a game changer in improving the living standards of the people living in poverty.

It, however, is not enough to merely grow them.

These farm produce must have access to the market.

One reason why farmers are not motivated in their occupation is because they cannot do without the middle men, who pay them pennies for their produce while charging the consumers exorbitantly. On the other hand, to become an exportable commodity that is price competitive, they will need to be grown on a large scale. Therefore, the government must have a plan of action that would benefit the country, the farmers and other stakeholders.