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Kathmandu Saturday May 19, 2001 Jestha 06, 2058.
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Low food
grain prices mar agro-growth
Post Report
KATMHANDU, May 18 - Aggregate
growth rate for the agricultural sector this year is lower than achieved last year, thanks
largely to slumping prices of agro-products.
The preliminary estimates for
the agricultural sector, issued by the Agriculture Promotion and Statistics Division,
Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, reveal that food grain production is expected to
grow by only 2.67 per cent this fiscal year to touch 7.17 million tons, against the actual
growth of 8 per cent last year. Food grains include paddy, wheat, maize, millet and
barley.
The relatively depressing
estimated figures for the food grain production in the current year is as a result of a
sharp drop in the output of wheat. Wheat is expected to grow negatively by 2.17 per cent,
totaling 115.8 million tons.
The slump in wheat production
is due to low returns that farmers enjoyed in paddy. Despite good paddy production this
year, huge influx of cheap rice from India that pulled down the prices of domestic paddy
lost the incentive for farmers to grow wheat.
Paddy output this year is
expected to surge by 4.62 per cent, down from last year’s 8.6 per cent. While the
actual output last fiscal year stood at 403 million tons, the output this year is
estimated to touch 421.6 million tons.
Similarly, maize output this
year is expected to surge by 2.67 per cent, while barley output is expected to drop by 1.7
per cent. Millet output, too, is expected to drop by 4.24 per cent. In aggregate terms,
maize output is expected to touch 115.8 million tons, while barley and millet is expected
to slump to 30,500 tons and 283,000 tons respectively.
On the other hand, this year
is expected to be good in terms of cash crop output, primarily due to a shift of farmers
from food grains to cash crop production, prompted mainly by slashing food grain prices.
Cash crop output is projected to swell by a good 7.31 per cent to aggregate 3.68 million
tons this fiscal year, up from the last year’s output of 3.43 million tons.
On an individual basis, the
production of oil seeds is estimated to rise by 7.8 per cent to touch a total 132,000
tons, as against last year’s growth of 2.52 per cent. Similarly, potato output is
predicted to jump up by 11.10 per cent to aggregate 1.31 million tons. Likewise, output of
tobacco, sugarcane and jute is estimated to swell to 3,900 tons, 2.21 million tons and
16,000 tons respectively.
Similarly, output of pulses
is also expected to grow by 2.49 per cent to reach 243,000 tons, while the production of
fruits and vegetables is also targeted to increase by 9.8 per cent and 10.66 per cent
respectively.
The number of vetenaries this
fiscal year is expected to reach 6.98 million, a marginal drop of 0.58 per cent according
to the preliminary estimates. Similarly, milk production is estimated at 1.12 million
tons, which is a 2.47 per cent increment as compared to the actual production last fiscal
year.
Finally, output in meat and
flowers is expected to increase by 2.7 per cent and 5.5 per cent to touch 194,000 tons and
507 million units respectively, while fish output is targeted at 34,000 tons, an increment
of 8.66 per cent.
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