KATHMANDU: President Bidya Devi Bhandari has said agriculture profession should be systematic, commercial and dignified.
She has urged the bodies concerned to fulfill the goal of developing agriculture as an industry by increasing productivity.
President Bhandari mentioned that on one hand there is a challenge before us to reduce trade deficit of the country due to increasing import of food stuffs while on other hand there is a responsibility to ensure food security, nutrient-rich food and healthy life for all the citizens of the country.
“We can face this challenge only from the hard work of the farmers. It is relevant to hold meaningful discussion on the issue of country’s overall agro system, situation of food security, increase in productivity, profession-based on agriculture and resolving problems of farmers”, she opined.
The President also expressed the view that maize, wheat, millet as well as indigenous crops could be promoted by diversifying the crops to reduce our dependence on paddy and rice.
She stressed that the government should take initiatives to construct basic infrastructures like road to take agro products up to markets, irrigation facility and agro machineries.
President Bhandari laid emphasis on the need of establishing and operation of agro industries based on tea, cardamom, ginger, cotton, sugarcane farming as farmers can get economic benefit immediately from this cultivation, adding the three-tier of government should play role to utilize all the barren land.
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