Follow BP’s Ideals

THE nation celebrated the 88th birth anniversary of visionary leader late BP Koirala the other day in which leaders and workers of the ruling Nepali Congress vowed to translate BP’s ideals into practice. BP Koirala is the founder leader of the Nepali Congress and trailblazer of the democratic movement in Nepal. It was during BP’s leadership, Nepali Congress launched the mass movement that successfully overthrew century-old Rana oligarchy and established democracy in the country. After the royal coup that crushed democracy, BP consistently fought and led the movement for democracy and human rights for years. BP was always a source of inspiration for all democratic people in Nepal. He is widely acclaimed as a visionary leader and his ideas and ideals are still relevant today. Democratic socialism is BP’s ideal. Democracy guarantees political freedom to the people. But without economic prosperity people may not always be able to enjoy the freedom and democratic rights. The global experience has shown that socialism in the absence of civil and political rights and individual freedom has proved to be a failure. Thus, democratic socialism is the ideal for the sustainable economic and democratic development. It is because of his vision and commitment to democracy and human rights that BP has been regarded as a statesman of international stature . The Nepali Congress has adopted BP’s democratic socialism as its guiding principles. In Nepal’s context, democratic socialism alone can lead the nation towards progress and prosperity. Against this background, various leaders of the Nepali Congress including Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, party president Girija Prasad Koirala and former Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai dwelt on BP’s democratic socialism and expressed their commitment to work for the translation of BP’s ideals into reality. Democratic socialism, which BP championed, is not only a political theory but also a way of life and culture. BP used to tell his workers to always think and act from the perspective of the poor people living in the rural and remote areas. His vision was to create an egalitarian society in which even the poorest Nepali would be able to enjoy equal rights, freedom and opportunities in the political, social and economic front. As the country now is suffering from massive poverty and backwardness, it is necessary to translate BP’s vision and ideals into action in order to solve national problems and uplift the social and economic condition of the people.

Boosting Farm Output

AGRICULTURE, is still the mainstay of the country’s economy as it provides the Country’s largest share of its GNP. It is for this very reason that our economy is identified as an agro-based economy. Apart from this, the nation’s agricultural sector gives employment to over 90 per cent of the population. This clearly shows that the vast majority of the people are not only agriculturists by profession and choice but their very living standard hinges on this sector’s performance. As such, if the farmers’ living standard is to be raised, then the need to boost agricultural output has become imperative. The government, having realised this crucial linkage, has not been sparing any efforts or resources to boost agricultural output by, among others, allocating a substantial amount of its yearly budget to this sector. Similarly, it has not only been effortful to take agricultural extension services to the doorsteps of the farmers but also appropriate farming techniques developed the agriculture research centres in the country. Yet, for the last three decades, the country, from being a net foodgrain exporter, has been forced to import foodgrains just to keep pace with increasing foodgrain demands at home. This, in turn, is frittering away its meagre resources that could have been meaningfully utilised to meet other competing demands of the people.

But more than this, the lackluster performance of the agriculture sector has raised an excruciating query: despite the government’s heavy investments in terms of money, manpower, material and even expertise in this sector, what is or are holding back this sector from giving its best? One ready reason could be the farmers’ lack of access to agricultural extension services and inputs. Of course, this is not to say that there are no agricultural extension services in the country. There are, especially if we take in the numerous agricultural research centres established throughout the nation. However, as far as these centres’ outreach among farmers is concerned, they have yet to put their act together. If the productivity of the agriculture sector is to be raised, then it looks to reason for them to come up with initiatives to not only reach out to the farmers but also to effectively communicate with them. The recent observation made by Mahesh Acharya, the Minister for Agriculture and Cooperatives—that improved technology and seeds should reach the farmers on time for the development of agriculture sector—should be seen in this light.