According to the report, a large amount of food items are being imported to Nepal. Even though rice, maize and millet are considered as major food crops of Nepal, imports amounted to Rs. 59.29 billion in the first nine months of the current Fiscal Year.
Seven percent of Nepal’s total arable land is barren. According to the Ministry of Agriculture Development, a total of 3 million 91 thousand hectares of land is cultivable across the country.
Two thousand Nepali citizens fly abroad from Tribhuvan International Airport daily in search of employment. The country is portrayed as an agricultural country. According to the Department of National Statistics, the contribution of agriculture sector to the GDP is 27 percent.
The general tendency of Nepalis to buy consumer goods with remittance money and send it wherever it comes from is clear from the details made public by the Customs Department till mid-April of the current fiscal year.
On the one hand, Nepal’s land is barren and on the other hand, Nepalis are in dire straits of having to import foods. The government has formulated various policies and programs to increase the production of agricultural produce.
But those programs have not reached the target group. Last year, the government announced that it was self-sufficient in some agricultural products. But the statistics of the customs department have proved that claim wrong. Frightening statistics have been made public that paddy, rice, wheat and millet are being imported by spending foreign currency by keeping the land barren.
