Monday, November 5, 2012

Government to double agro budget: PM

Caretaker Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai has said that his government will double budget for agriculture in the fiscal policy.
The government will double the budget to ensure food safety and promote commercialisation of agriculture, he said addressing a programme organised to mark 32nd World Food Day today.
"Food security is related to human rights, so the government is serious to protect the rights of the people," he said, adding that the government is developing agriculture sector with short, middle and long term programmes.
According to him, the government is also strictly monitoring the market to improve supply side. School nutrition and identity card for poor is also associated to food safety, he added. "The government is planning to improve land reform system and empower cooperatives to improve supply chain."
We are trying to reduce middlemen in the market to protect the consumers," he added.
The government had allocated Rs 12.43 billion in agriculture out of the total budget outlay of Rs 384.90 billion in the fiscal year 2011-12. It is about 3.27 per cent of the total budget outlay.
Agriculture is a major contributor to the gross domestic product (GDP). Its share in the GDP has been about 35 per cent for years. Within it, cereal crops cover 42 per cent, horticulture 31 per cent, livestock 25 per cent and fisheries two per cent. The country had produced about 9.3 million metric tonnes of crops including 5.07 million metric tonnes of rice.

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