WTO And Agriculture
Some Critical Issues

By Gandhi Raj Kafle

COMMITMENTS, to get entry into the WTO, the world trade organisation, are now being made in Nepal. The Ministry of Commerce, the concerned authority to prepare for it, is now said to be working speedily in this regard. The trade circles in Nepal like the government itself, are also engaged to discuss possible advantages and disadvantages of the WTO provisions, which will be automatically binding for trading activities once the nation formally enters into it.

Liberalisation
Speaking policywise, Nepal has been following a path of economic liberalisation since 1990. Efforts have been made to privatise public companies to boost the participation of the private sector in the mainstream economy. These early initiatives of the country and the WTO provisions do not contravene. In this background, what can be said here, is that there is policy benefit for Nepal through the entry into WTO.

But, the policy alone is not enough. It’s the sincere work that raise efficiency, competitiveness and enterpreneurship in production functions to match the goal in the long run, especially to expand and benefit from trading activities as envisaged by the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Though this competitiveness is a long awaited economic dream in Nepal, the relative progress made in practice in many sphere of economic development is still slow.

So, the prime concern despite having tremendous economic resources to mobilise for us today is the slow growth. Then, should we opt to remain out of the WTO till we gain necessary momentum of economic development before entering into it?

Isolation is certainly no solution to the economic problems of a country. This, like many developing nations in the world, will be applicable to Nepal also. May be realising the bitter fact, the country is all set to make necessary preparations for an early entry into the World Trade Organisation as a member. Yet, what can be said without any hesitation is that getting a membership of the WTO in itself is neither a matter of joy nor sorrow.

The country must make fast economic progress in the region. It makes sense paving way for many economic benefits increasingly and intensively, as a member country of the world bodies like the WTO itself. In this vein, with the growing global economic challenges ahead in an uncomfortable situation of income disparity and widening gap between haves-and-have-nots; Nepal seems to be in critical economic condition. And, to remember the bitter truth for us, the WTO benefits will have no automatic impact for ameliorating the trade difficulty of a member country. It’s a sole responsibility of an individual nation to create positive impact with national and international cooperation for the WTO benefits. Can Nepal make some tangible progress for it?

Fast industrial development with utmost care in product specialisation to expand market of few chosen and viable commodities for the country to internationalise trade can help us achieve some market benefits in near future.

But, the WTO provisions are the common framework, they have no discriminatory treatment to provide special favour to the nations industrially advanced or industrially backward or, for that matter, there is no any special privileges to any products for global trade. The WTO, it seems, sticks to the principles of equality.

So understandingly, the WTO provisions are binding to all nations and all products. In this economic background, the Third World trade will have a tough time ahead. There may be cut-throat competition in the international trade in which small economies may suffer once again. So, signing a deal to get an entry into the WTO for Nepal will surely add a new economic challenge in the near future.

Therefore, for Nepal, which is preparing in full swing for the entry to the new world trade body, it’s the right moment to weigh all pros and cons. However notably, echoing the same spirit for preparations, academic exercises through workshop discussions at various levels have been carried out enthusiastically. It’s good because since the establishment of WTO in 1995, the trade option institutionalised in it cannot be ignored. But, the difficulty for us today is that our economic condition cannot ensure due benefit from the mainstream world trade. Infrastructurally weak, industrially vulnerable and commercially fragile economy of the country are the main reasons behind this uncertainty. Very shortly, through the open and liberal economic policy, the country must be able to cope with the problems that have jeopardised the hope for growth target — if we really want to be benefitted from the mainstream world trade.

And, while doing so for strategic advantage in line with the WTO, our national and international focus must be on the agriculture, which until now is the dominant production sector. In this vein a relevant question to ponder over can be: what will happen in our agriculture output if all trade barriers to streamline the Nepalese economy towards the goal envisaged by the World Trade Organisation are removed? If we become more competitive, quality conscience and scientific for agriculture farming, the WTO benefits may be with us once we get membership of it. But, competition and economies of scale are not a sudden phenomena; a world economic body can be emerged dramatically, but, a backward economy of a nation cannot be corrected suddenly.

Protective
So, conclusively, agriculture for us is still a delicate sector, which needs a smooth handling. And, such a smooth handling comes out from government protection in our case. The agriculture, thus, may not be adaptive to the tune of WTO because it has been traditionally a protective sector everywhere. Even the farmers of advanced countries like the US, Canada and the EU member nations enjoy a noticeably high amount of agriculture subsidies in the production and exports. And, government’s bid to lift such subsidies in the past had also been opposed there by farmers with protests. Nepal too needs to think for these issues while eagerly opting for the WTO entry.

Migration: Causes & Problems

By Khilendra Basnyat

MIGRATION in Nepal is not entirely new. It is increasing every year, especially in the Terai region and developed urban areas.

Difficult
Migration has complex origins so that it is sometimes difficult to separate one from the others. Seasonal and temporary migration has both economical and psychological causes. Permanent emigration to the Terai is directly linked to the demographic pressure.

Despite continuing endeavours the economic and social development in our country is not obvious everywhere. It can only be realised in the most accessible and most profitable parts of the country.

Our mountains and hills are difficult to reach as yet. Most people of these regions have not been able to enjoy the fruits of development.

The gap between the hills and Terai region is increasing. On the one hand, the road transport is modern, the economy being monetarised, the secondary and tertiary sectors are gaining importance. On the other hand, it is very difficult to move around, the country is based on agriculture and livestock and trade remains traditional.

Investment have brought a profit in the Terai. This results in the inhabitants of the retarded sectors, hills and mountains being forced by the demographic pressure and need for money to migrate into the more advanced regions of the country.

Population pressure in the hills had led to deforestation and soil erosion, and the situation is becoming more serious every year. Men have no alternative than to look for alternative means of livelihood. The Terai at the foot of the Himalayas presents an opportunity because the main reason for low population density there has been removed by the eradication of malaria.

In reality, the Terai belt is filling up day by day. In general, the more enterprising member of a group will take this drastic step first, leavingbehind an aged and dispiritedpopulation.

Sentimental or family conflicts have also resulted in migration. For example, illegitimate couples might flee to India, Sikkim and other countries in order to escape other quarrels and possible reprisals from the family. For the lover, this flight is advantageous because be is forced to pay the marriage compensation straight away. The couple returns to the village after a few years, once the connotion caused by their departure has calmed down. The young man then pays the compensation with the money earned abroad and everything becomes normal again. Young girls between 18 and 22 years of age leave home in twos and threes against their parents’ wishes to prove their independence. It has also a means of escaping an unloved husband or a very exciting mother-in-law.

It has been discovered from research that the majority of migrants leave their birth place because they are encumbered with debts. They usually go and look for money in other countries which will pay them off.

Looking for work in Nepalese urban centres and abroad has become an increasing phenomenon. Such vast movements can be explained to a certain extent by the communication development network.

The demographic factor plays an important role in migration. On the one hand, the increase in population, which is very high in Nepal, is often at the origin of the degradation of the natural environment. On the other hand, the ecological rupture thus created causes the population to migrate.

In Nepal in the space of three decades, the volume of migration has almost tripled. About 95 per cent of migrants come from the hills and the mountains of the country. Some go abroad and others move within Nepal from one region to another.

Migration has old history in Nepal. In the nineteenth century a large number of Nepalese especially the Magar, Gurung, Rai, Limbu and others from the Tibeto-Burmese language groups went to work abroad. They were employed in the Gurkha regiments of India.

Since 1816 when the English began to recruit mercenaries in Nepal the number of Gurkhas serving abroad has increased. The higher figures were observed during World Wars: 200,000 in the first and 110,000 in the second. In the second half of the nineteenth century, also, some Nepalese people migrated to Assam, Darjeeling and Bhutan.

For more than three decades, the Himalayan ecosystem has been experiencing severe crisis. Throughout the hills and mountains a rapid environmental degradation such as deforestation, increasingly poor soil, landslides, overgrazing disappearance of animal species, etc. can be observed. In these regions, men have become more and more of predators. They tend to exploit their environment over and above its possibilities.

It is questionable as to whether the mountain societies have the capacity to reproduce the basic materials necessary for their existence. As a matter of fact, environmental degradation has a direct menace both to the environment and in the long run to the country’s economy.

The resettlement programme is inadequate to relieve the hills from their population pressure. Therefore, the continuing population pressure will cause a huge environmental deterioration not only in the hills but also in the potential productivity of the Terai region.

In recent times, demographic pressure is extremely high in the Terai. Encouraged by a liberal policy for the allotment of land, numerous rural people settled down permanently in this region. However, demographic pressure is stagnant or increased slightly in the hills.

It is only since 1954 that internal migration has increased spectacularly because it was at this time that a programme was launched to eradicate malaria. The suppression of this illness opened up vast territories to the people of hilly and mountainous regions.

Migration has been creating grave problems in our country. In general, there are two types of settlements in our country. His Majesty’s Government of Nepal in collaboration with international organisations such as the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Bank has organised resettlement schemes in various places. By far the largest group of settlers has been constituted by illegal and uncontrolled settling or squatting.

According to an estimate made by FAO some years ago, no more than 816,000 hectares of forest area remain in the Terai and less than half of this will be suitable for cultivation. If migration into the Terai continues, all the cultivable land will be occupied in not more than a decade.

The majority of the people still resides in rural areas which lack information, infrastructures and appropriate technology. In these areas work is found exhausting and lack of a good marketing system is a hindrance. Apart from these, most of the local resources available in these areas have not been properly utilised due to lack of skilled manpower and also due to insufficient capital.

Making a living is tough in rural areas because rugged terrain leaves very little cultivable land, and crop yields are poor and limited in variety. In these areas, farming depends on rains and employs primitive methods and tools. This adds to the woes of the rural people and consequently they migrate abroad or into the urban areas of the country.

Possibility
Migration has caused new problems, such as poor housing and poor sanitation in migrated areas. It cannot be controlled unless dynamic changes in the political, social and economic situations of rural areas are made as soon as possible. This is possible through an effective implementation of rural development programmes.

Looking Back

By Guna Dev Bhattarai

TO agitate against the government had become the order of the day for some months. Many so-called politicians were busy organising platforms to vomit out their provocative speeches to attract the semi-conscious Nepalese in the valley. Their conception of democracy was far from realism. In the meantime, the valley students having no clear vision of democracy and somewhat affiliation to some parties launched an agitation against the government. During the police action one student was shot dead. The issue of the death of the student was not as grave as it was presented in the media. The short sighted politicians targeted the Home Minister and made him responsible for the police action.

Bisheswor was painfully conscious as to the actions that occurred in the country. He was determined to organise the party in order to give it a new leaf and thereby defeat the disruptive forces. That is why he together with other Congress members were determined not to be participants in the cabinet. Eventually Bisheswor with other Congress ministers tendered their resignation to the King.

Mohan Shumshere with all his fellow ministers also followed suit.

The resignation of the entire coalition ministry facilitated King Tribhuvan to take another step of his own choice. ‘Man proposes and god disposes’ goes an adage, King Tribhuvan wanted to have smooth running of the interim government in keeping with the spirit of the Delhi Deal but the prevailing circumstances persuaded him to form another government. Consequently King Tribhuvan formed another government comprised of eight Congress men and six independents. Matrika Prasad Koirala was deputed to succeed Mohan Shumshere as the new Prime Minister.

The King directed the new ministry to ensure civil rights of the people, measures for independent judiciary, Public Service Commission and holding general election as soon as possible. The isolations of Bisheswor was somewhat a foregone conclusion as the former apart from being a pure nationals was not in a position to tolerate Indian interference in the politics of Nepal. King Tribhuvan was greatly obliged to India for the latter’s timely help to wipe out the Rana autocracy. Evidently he was not in a position to go against the will of India. On the other hand King Tribhuvan felt that it would be easy to run the government with Matrika Prasad Koirala as Prime Minister.

Many Congress leaders were in favour of Bisheswor to lead the cabinet. In the meantime the Gorkha Parishad (Dal), the communists and other forces girded up their loins to disrupt the working of the cabinet. The situation of law and order in some parts of the country deteriorated because disruptive forces were raising their ugly heads. In the meantime on January 20, 1952 the Raksha Dal broke into Simha Durbar and released K.I. Singh and his fellow detainees. A kind of revolt broke out in the valley. All the ministers and high ranking officials went to the palace for the safety of their lives. However, Tanka Prasad Acharya and Ganesh Man Singh tackled the situation by assuring K.I. Singh that the King would fulfil his reasonable demands.

The Royal Army controlled the situations and K.I. Singh and some of his trusted supporters were let to leave the capital by posing to follow and arrest them. K.I. Singh reached China through Tibet.

Some of his followers were arrested while others turned their tails. The Communist Party and the Rastriya Mahasabha were banned.