Nepal: Government to take action against illegal fertilizers
Speaking at an interaction program with farmers in Kavre district on Sunday, Krishna Hari Baskota, secretary at office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers (OPMCM), said that the government will not take strict action against farmers and crop dealers who rampantly use toxic inorganic fertilizers to boost crop production without paying much attention to human health.
Baskota had held the discussion with the farmers in the district who are producing organic crops, especially vegetables, under the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) method, which is a technique of producing crops in safer ways with the maximum use of organic fertilizers.
Stating that farmers are even illegally importing banned chemical pesticides, he said that farmers take the vegetable products to the market before the effects of the chemical fertilizers get neutralized, and the trend has lead to serious health problems.
He further said that the government will not tolerate any farmers who play with public health.
“The massive use of harmful inorganic fertilizers has degraded fertility of arable land in the country. So, I urge all the farmers to adopt organic farming,” added he.
He also informed that the government aims to establish at least one organic fertilizer production plant in each development region. “We will provide 50 percent grant to those interested to establish such an industry.”
After the interaction program, Baskota and Jay Mukunda Khanal, secretary at the Ministry of Agricultural Development, inspected the vegetable and fruit market set up by the farmers working under Kavreli Farmers Organization.
Meanwhile, the secretary duo also inaugurated a resource center for IPM at Kusadevi village in the district. With the help of resource center, farmers can produce organic fertilizers to kill butterfly larva.
Krishna Poudel, an agricultural expert, said the use of chemical fertilizers for crops production has caused various diseases like diabetes among others. He said until and unless the government reforms the existing agricultural policy regarding the control of pesticides, the use of chemical fertilizers is likely to persist.
Source: myrepublica.com