Youth involvement essential for agriculture development: VP Pun

Kathmandu / July 4: Vice President Nanda Bahadur Pun has stressed on modernization, professionalization and mechanization for sustainable agricultural development.

While inaugurating the First Youth Agricultural Entrepreneurs Conference here in the district today, VP Pun said that diversification of the agriculture sector was need of the hour as agriculture was the base of prosperity for the country.

Vice- President Pun also issued the directives to the government to stop land fragmentation and plotting, to create agriculture friendly environment, to provide soft loan to the youth to attract them in the sector. He added that youth should lead the agriculture sector.

Similarly, Minister for Agricultural Development Haribol Gajurel said that the sustainable development of the agriculture sector was impossible unless youth involved in the sectors.

He said the government has adopted the policy of pension to farmers, utilisation of the barren land and developing the agriculture sector as pocket area for attaining sustainable agricultural development.

The Minister stated that the government also has the policy of declaring ‘A decade of Fruit’ very soon.

The agriculture sector’s contribution to the GDP is 34 percent. According to the National Agriculture Census 2011/12, 129 thousand hectares of arable land remains uncultivated in 10 years and 116 thousand people do not have own land for cultivation.

Ambassador of Israel to Nepal, Mr Yaron Mayer commented that Nepal has immense possibilities in agriculture and the youth should put in their skills and enthusiasm for the development of this sector. He also expressed that the government of Israel would provide whatever assistance it can to Nepal for agricultural development.

President of the 4H, the organisation that held the programme, Lok Raj Awasthi said the programme has been organised aimed at enhancing the farmers’ attraction to agriculture sector through agriculture mechanisation. The conference will run for two days.. RSS