Reduction in Agriculture Budget: What Should Farmers Expect?

The government has reduced the agriculture sector’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year by NPR 633 million compared to last year, setting it at NPR 5.114 billion. Of the total proposed budget, 54.74 percent, equivalent to NPR 2.8 billion, is planned to be allocated for the purchase and supply of chemical fertilizers. Experts and stakeholders in the agriculture sector have expressed serious concerns, pointing to a lack of alignment between policy programs and the budget limits. May 24, Kathmandu.

The government has fixed the agriculture budget ceiling for fiscal year 2083/84 at NPR 5.114 billion 93 million. According to the budget proposal presented by the Ministry of Agriculture at the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture, Cooperatives, and Natural Resources, the total budget ceiling for the upcoming year represents a decrease of NPR 633 million 10,000 from the current fiscal year 2082/83 allocation of NPR 5.747 billion 94 million. More than half of the proposed budget, 54.74 percent, is expected to be spent on the purchase and supply of chemical fertilizers.

For the current fiscal year, NPR 2.882 billion 14 million had been allocated for chemical fertilizers, whereas the ministry plans to allocate NPR 2.8 billion for fertilizers in the next fiscal year. The federal budget has seen a cut of nearly NPR 500 million, setting the federal level budget ceiling at NPR 4.591 billion 98 million only. This reflects a reduction of NPR 476 million 13 million compared to the current fiscal year’s allocation of NPR 5.068 billion 11 million.

Stakeholders and experts in the agriculture sector have voiced concerns over the mismatch between governmental policy declarations and budget ceilings. Although the policy programs emphasize an agricultural decade and modernization, the shrinking budget ceiling implies a lack of government commitment toward agricultural development, they argue. Experts recommend that the upcoming budget should not focus solely on chemical fertilizer procurement; it should also concentrate on the proper classification and listing of real farmers, offer special concessions in electricity and taxation to reduce production costs, and address issues related to minimum support prices and market guarantees.