"The donor agencies have not made investment in any major
irrigation project in Nepal over the last 10 years," he
said speaking at a conference on food situation and
humanitarianism on Monday.
The Finance Minister stressed that the investment in the
infrastructure like irrigation and transportation is
imperative to prevent food crisis in Nepal.
"Being a poor country Nepal cannot make huge investment in
the irrigation sector," he said, "Nepal needs donors'
assistance in this field."
Addressing a roundtable conference jointly organised by
Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industries
(FNCCI) and United Nations World Food Programme (UNWFP),
Dr. Mahat said Nepal faced a limited impact of food crisis
as the country witnessed good agricultural production this
year.
Speaking at the same programme, UNWFP's country director
Richard Ragan said that Nepal's poorest seven million
people were investing their 70 percent income in food
only.
He also informed that the UNWFP has plans supply food
items to 3 million people this year in Nepal.
FNCCI president Kush Kumar Joshi said that the marketable
surplus of food was not adequate as assumed by the
government. nepalnews.com ps July 28 08
