National 3 (Spotlight Weekly)

Farmers’ Woes

Frequent general strikes called by different organizations including the Maoist have severely hurt the marginal farmers of Nepal and India

By A CORRESPONDENT

Raghunath Raya, a fruit dealer of Kalimati, is frustrated whenever he hears about new Nepal Bandh (general strike) and/or bandhs at local level. An Indian hailing from Gorakhpur, Raya has already lost hundreds of thousands of rupees in the last three months due to frequent strikes and uncertainties.

“I have lost about Rs.500,000 alone in the last two months when I had to dump grapes and oranges imported from Nagpur and other parts of India. These are perishable goods which become rotten if not sold on time. I will no more order bulk fruits until the things stabilize here in Nepal,” he said.

Raya is not an only fruit dealer in Kalimati having to face such a situation. Other vegetable dealers have similar problems. Krishna Lal Sapkota, a vegetable dealer from Dhading, 30 miles west of Kathmandu, has similar stories to tell. He has already dumped fresh vegetables like Brinjal, cauliflower and cabbages while on the way from Sarlahi. Sapkota also imports dry and fresh vegetables from different parts of India including onion, potato, garlic and so on.

“Being a dealer, my loss is nominal compared to the farmers who have to dump all their products in case of no order,” said Sapkota. “Most vulnerable are fruits like grapes, oranges and bananas. Nepalese farmers, who grow tomato and cauliflower, have to bear all the loss.”

There are more than 1,000 small street vendors who sell fruits and vegetables in different parts of the country. Along with permanent shop keepers, there are thousands of mobile vendors.

According to Nepal Rastra Bank, fresh vegetables and fresh fruits are also the major items Nepal imports from India. Unlike other agriculture items, fresh fruits are consumed during certain season only.

“You have to sell the fruits within a few days after the arrival. If you cannot sell it, they will rot,” said Raya. “If the situation is normal, the population of Kathmandu can get fruits at half the price they are paying at present.” Because there is no facility of cold storages, most farmers must sell their perishable goods as soon as possible. If Bandh is announced then their goods are almost certain to perish.

In normal times, about dozens of trucks loaded with fruits from different parts of India enter Nepal. “Since the situation is uncertain, Indian truck owners do not prefer to enter Nepal,” said Raya.

“How can we order goods at a time when nobody knows which district will declare bandh when,” said another fruit dealer. Foreign Trade Statistic 2000, published by Department of Customs, showed that Nepal imported lemons and limes, fresh or dried worth Rs 7.870 million. Likewise, oranges worth Rs.13.838 million; fresh grapes worth Rs.1.619; and dried grapes worth Rs.1.063 million were imported from India.

Furthermore, Nepal imported citrus fruit fresh or dried worth Rs.35.245 million from India. It also imported other fresh fruits worth of Rs.5.536 million from India in the year 2000. Vegetables worth Rs.35.37 million were also imported during that period.

Similarly, Nepal also imported fresh and dry apples worth Rs.37.612 million. Watermelons and melons worth Rs.6.05 million were also imported. Besides these formal trades, a huge volume of trade also exists through non-formal channels.

Since the populations of the valley and other urban areas have shot up, Nepal now imports a lot more of these items at present.

“The host of policies that assist Indian farmers in the bordering areas provide strong incentive for export of agriculture products from India to Nepal through informal channels,” writes Binod Kumar Karmacharya in his paper informal Trade and Nepal-India economic cooperation: Nepalese Perspective.

If all agriculture products are included, the volume of loss due to bandh will cross the mark of millions of rupees. As Nepalese market is integrated with Indian market, both the countries have to suffer the loss. Along with Nepalese farmers, Indian farmers, too, have to face the similar pain.

Frustrated by frequent general strikes (Nepal Bandh) by the Maoist and other political forces, many small farmers in Nepal have already lost their faith on the forces who reportedly champion the cause of poor.

Nepal imports fresh oranges, fresh grapes, papayas, apples, cheries, peaches, plums, strawberries, water melons, citrus fruits other seasonal fresh fruits. Raw ginger, Turmeric, rice, wheat and millet, goats, potato, onion, ground nut, tomato and tomato sauce, Soya sauce, pineapples, homogenized vegetables, potato, fishes are imported from 21 border points with India. Some of Nepalese vegetables also find the market in India through formal and informal channels.

According to Economic Survey 2002-2003, in general, both imports and exports of Nepal have increased over the years. In the year 2000-01, Nepal's global imports were worth Rs. 113 billion, of which Rs. 46 billion were from India , i.e., around 41%; and Nepal's global exports were around Rs. 57 billion of which around Rs. 27 billion worth were to India, i.e., nearly 47%. In the year 2001-02, 60.7% of Nepal's over all exports were to India and 42.5% of Nepal's imports were from India

More than a million population working in the informal sector has to face difficult situation. For the employees in formal sector, the general strikes may not matter much but it is hugely painful to small farmers.

“I am bankrupt now since I cannot pay even interest this year. In the last five weeks, I have already dumped more than one thousand kg of tomato and had to sell another one thousand kg of them at throwaway price of Rs. 2 per kilo,” wailed Ram Prasad Sapkota, a small farmer from Kavrepalanchowk who grows tomato.

From farmers to laborers, every one has to lose their incomes during a general strike. Because of threats and coercion, people are compelled to close down their businesses and movement is also restricted.

“If I cannot pay interest rate this year, my loan will double next year,” said Sapkota. There are many other small marginal farmers like Sapkota who are suffering from the general strikes.

Nepalese tourism sector, which was on the process of recovery received a major set back by a spate of general strikes called recently. Known as a Shangri-La, tourism is the life line of economy of this Himalayan Kingdom of South Asia.

According to the Economic Survey of Nepal 2002, published by Ministry of Finance, Nepal’s total Gross Domestic Product was equivalent to more than Rs.400 billion. Nepal generates more than 1 billion rupees in a day in total.

Since the tourism session begins from the month of February, the general strikes have sent a wrong signal to the international tourism market. “Although only a few groups have canceled their visits to Nepal, the general strikes have sent a wrong message to the international tourism market about uncertainty of Nepal and it will have negative consequences in tourism sector,” said an entrepreneur.

Tourism industry contributes about 4 percent of Gross Domestic Product and 15 percent of foreign currency earning. According to the Economic Survey, Nepal generated foreign currency equivalent to Rs.7.79 billion (85 million US$) in fiscal year 2001/2002. During the period 250,000 foreign tourists visited Nepal and this figure is a half compared to the figure of 2000/2001. According to the World Bank’s Country Assistance Strategy Report 2003, tourism arrivals declined by 38 percent in the fiscal year 2002.

The country has already witnessed seven days of general strikes in the last two months. Along with the three day general strike by Maoists, other mainstream political parties like Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and other smaller parties also called for strikes closing the business activities causing immense trouble in the life of population with marginal income.

In a country with more than 42 percent of the population living below the poverty line, the general strikes will hurt the poor farmers most.

“The country will lose equivalent to Rs.1 billion a day (1.5 million US$) since the general strike will cripple all kinds of economic activities in the country including the industrial sector,” said Chandi Raj Dhakal, first vice president of Federation Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry and one of the largest garment exporters.

Along with national economy, farmers and small traders from India and Nepal are the victims of the general strikes. The general strike hits all formal and informal economic sectors. “We are yet to study the total implications of the Bandh but general strikes hit badly to the life of marginal and poor population who are involved in non-formal economic sectors,” said Dr. Shankar Sharma, vice-chairman of the National Planning Commission, a policy making government body.

With the restoration of democracy 13 years ago, frequent general strikes like Nepal Bandh (general strike) called by different political parties has crippled Nepalese economy as well as the life of marginal farmers.

Farmers of India and Nepal are not alone to share the woes of Bandhs, Nepal’s northern neighbor China also exports fresh grapes and apples to Nepal. Nepal imported Rs.20.765 million worth of dried and fresh grapes including apples worth Rs.21.633 from Tibet.

Nepal Bandh (general strike) is causing harm not only to Nepalese economy and Nepalese farmers but it is also causing certain level of harm to Nepal’s two neighbors and India is particularly more affected after Nepal.

Nepal Bandhs may come and go but Raya and Sapkota have to bear the loss together with the marginal farmers of Nepal and India.