Published by: Mandira
Published date: 20 Jan 2022
Agriculture is the production of food or other materials by farming, both by planting crops and keeping animals. It provides food for people and animals as well as raw materials for industries. Animals are reared for milk, meat, fur, wool etc to be used as raw materials by the industries. Some modernized agriculture has highly specialized on very few or sometimes a single crop. Types of crops cultivated and species of animals reared and their products depends on climate, a fertility of soil, a technology used etc. application of the improved irrigation system, seeds, and fertilizers, trained, modern tools etc can help to grow the products.
Importance of agriculture
Nepal is an agricultural country but hardly 20% of the total land is under cultivation and farming must provide food for the population. The population is increasing by nearly 2% every year (that's nearly 5, 00,000 people) but the land which can be cultivated remains the same, even occupied growingly by settlement and industries.
Agriculture is very important economic activity in Nepal. It is a non-alternative occupation for the mass of unskilled people. Nepal's varied climate and soil type can be suitable for growing diverse crop types and animal species. Agriculture supports nearly 40% of the national economy. It provides raw materials for many industries.
Problems of Nepalese Agriculture
We have not been able to improve our agriculture a lot. It is in still traditional and labour-intensive. Subsistence nature and lower productivity are its major characteristics. The agriculture sector has been given due priority by all the economic plans; still expected outcome has not been seen.
The following factors are responsible for our agricultural backwardness.
Traditional farming:
Nepalese agriculture used traditional methods of farming. Agricultural tools are not advanced. Due to traditional farming, work is very difficult and production in low. Farmers are not skilled in the methods of the modern agriculture. They are also not healthy enough to realize the potential of their farms. Crops and grains are destroyed by pests, insects, and weeds. Animals also cannot give good yield when they suffer from diseases.
Lack of proper irrigation system:
We have not been able to utilize our vast water resources to irrigate the cultivable land. Hardly about 20% of the total land under cultivation has good irrigation facilities. So farmers have to depend highly on monsoon rain which in not timely and reliable. In winter, much of the farmland remains unused due to the lack of irrigation facilities. During each monsoon landslides and floods excessive rain damage of the crop land.
Lack of transport and market:
Due to lack of market, our agro-based products rot in the places where they are grown. Food grains grow in the Terai cannot be transported to other areas easily nor can fruits such as apple grown in the north easily get a market in the south. Due to lack of storage facilities , agricultural products suffer low price.
Unscientific and undemocratic distribution of land:
Land distribution in not scientific and democratic. Those who are actual tillers don't own land at all while those who don't even tread field hoard huge areas of land and leave it uncultivated. Fertile valley and plains are being occupied by the settlement and industries. Besides, there in over-fragmentation of agricultural land i.e. broken into too small parcels. It is difficult to cultivate such parcels. All this results in low production.
Over pressure of manpower:
Less than 20% of total area of Nepal in under cultivation. But over 60% of population overburdens the land. With rapid population growth, a number of farmers cultivating the same field in increasing. When the share of land for a farmer gets very low, per capita production decreases.
Poor economic condition:
Nepalese farmers are subsistence farmers. They are compelled to take the loan even to run their family. They born in debt and die in debt. Interest rates are high. Much of their production goes in paying interests. In such conditions, they cannot afford to apply new technology and machinery to improve farming.
Lack of research activities:
A certain soil type and climate type in suitable for one or few crops. There are diverse climate and soil types in Neal. But there have not been enough researches and experiments to find the best crops and the best climate and soil type. Government plans and endeavors are quite insufficient in this regard.
The following measures should be taken to improve Nepalese agriculture:
Nepal is an agricultural country.More than 80 percent of the population is involved in agriculture.Agriculture is the main source of food, income, and employment of our country. Agriculture has been the highest priority because economic growth was dependent on both increasing the productivity of existing crops and diversifying the agricultural base for use as industrial inputs.
Modern AgricultureTechnology
In Nepal,Agriculture is done in traditional way.The people have been carrying on agriculture in the way our ancestors did.Our agriculture completely depends on our muscles,We use the same plough,spade,wooden planks etc as tools to work. so that we are not able to have good production and develop it as the mainstay of our economy.To modernize our agriculture,First thing we have to take training from District Agriculture office by how can we produce better use of technology.after then,we take the loan from co-operatives and Agriculture Development Bank to buy modern tools and equipment For example hand tractor,cutting machine etc We can also buy boring to exhume water for irrigation and We use insecticides,pesticides and fertilizer on time.When there is modern agriculture system we ae able to have good production and developed our economy which helps us to fulfilled our needs and wants .Due to a modernizing agricultural system, we can improve our lifestyle and we also can develop our nation too.
commercialization
Growing agricultural products for the sale purpose with the help of new technology to earn money is called commercial agriculture. In commercial agriculture, farmers are the producer of the products.
They produce the products with the intent of selling in market. They are engaged in commerce so they are commercial farmingCommercial farms are often larger than regular family farms because economies of scale are richly sought after due to the immense competition involved.
training
Commercial agriculture is not easy as it is. We need lot of efforts. We have to face a lot of problems such as pollution, shortage, etc. After struggling with certain district we have some advantage like income and increment in demands of goods.
Some ways of commercial agriculture: