Development Priorities must adequately focus on Occupation of majority of people

Opening Remarks by Prof. Bishwa Keshar Maskay, President

Society of International Development Nepal Chapter

We may all agree that to talk about Nepal’s development without agriculture coming as the most important part only makes an incomplete story. Whether we talk about overall economic growth, employment or ‘growth with a human face’, one naturally turns to agriculture. For this sector contributes to the majority part of the Gross Domestic Product and nearly 80% of the Nepalese people depend on agriculture as the major source of livelihood. Since agriculture is the activity on which the majority of households depend on – an activity which stays dispersed widely across the country, agriculture alone has the potential for the necessary broad-based development of Nepal.

The agricultural sector has historically provided the necessary base for the forward and backward linkages to the modern industrial and commercial systems of the country- with the required materials and markets for industrial goods. Indeed, right after the Second Plan (1962-65), the agricultural sector has attracted the foremost priority in subsequent developing five year plans in Nepal – right to the now on-going Tenth Plan (2002-06). After all, agriculture has been recognized to address to the objectives of broad-based rapid economic growth and poverty alleviation in the county.

Notwithstanding the priority that agricultural sector has received in subsequent development plans of Nepal; much has up to now remained desired. With differing focal interests on various aspects of the agricultural system- in different degrees at different periods, in areas of land reforms, crop diversification, use of modern seeds, use of fertilizers, there have been efforts to improve the agriculture in Nepal. However, much has remained so far to be achieved – in terms of realizing a significant impact on the increase in income and living standard of the Nepalese people, still dependent largely on traditional system of framing.

The Government has recently, with the Ninth Plan, implemented the Agricultural Perspective Plan (1995-2010) with clearly identified areas – in irrigation, rural roads, rural electricity, rural market rural finance, for greater doses of investment in order to maximize the returns on investment in agriculture. Much remains to be realized in the inputs of investment and the governance of related projects.

The economic performance of the country and an improved living condition of rural masses in Nepal thus very much depends on formulation of the suitable strategy of development that can establish backward linkages of agriculture with diverse production system existing in various forms of social life in Nepal and forward linkages of agriculture with industry and commerce. This is a strategy to link local hubs of economic growth (Nepalgunj, Pokhara, Birgunj, Janakpur, Biratnagar, Jhapa, etc) to national hub – Kathmandu and others – so as to capture the economy of scale. Given the topographical diversity and existence of small farms in Nepal, only decentralized form of development can prevent the polarization process.

But, we must understand the problem of why certain development strategies in the past in the agriculture sector, for example, land reform, or crop diversification, use of modern seeds, or new methods of cultivation or application of better technology and fertilizers did not work in the past in the agriculture sector and remained failed to modernize this sector. What were the barriers, how they were dealt with, what would have been the better alternative ways, etc so that "past does no grip the future." Only then we can pursue a better one strategy in the future that can help achieve a modicum of economic growth in agriculture sector and promote social development – poverty alleviation, employment generation and social integration. If development priorities do not adequately focus on the occupation of majority of people there is less likelihood of their empowerment.

This means we must also assess as to whether the current style of farming and implementing public policies based on "macroeconomic balance" and growth strategies for "industrial and service sectors" will yield positive divided in agriculture sector? Will agriculture play requisite role in national development when is subjected to unfair international competition and biased domestic policies? This brings us near to the question of politics in terms of making decisions, setting priorities, allocating resources, personnel and technical know-how, deploying institutional incentives and assessing its contribution. This is a question of linking public policies directly to the lives of rural people, developing the access of rural poor in the institutional resources of the state especially the means of production and maximizing their welfare gains.

In Nepal the framework conditions under which agriculture system operates must be analyzed properly. Why there is less investment in irrigation, rural infrastructure, technology and agricultural extension services which are so crucial to raise productivity? What are the underlying political interests in agricultural modernization so that rationality of agriculture is attuned to overall development of the country? And how the growth in agriculture can help build access to better form of multiple trading system being evolved by the WTO regime and its surpluses can be ploughed back to reinvestment in agriculture? Incentives arising out of marketing and institutional mechanisms are crucial determinants to its productivity and preference for expansion and modernization.

Sleeping with the eyes open

-Sudip Jha, T.U

"Be politically conscious, but not be political activist, so said Dr. Durga Prasad Bhandari as a suggestion to the Masters level students while delivering his speech as the Chief guest at a program organized by the Society for the English Literature Students, SELS, in the TU Auditorium hall recently.

He expressed his fear that the active participation in politics may spoil the academic career of the students. His speech reveals the mentality of the whole range of Nepalese intellectuals towards politics.

Instead of their direct involvement in politics, our intellectuals keenly observe one political episode followed by another if they are watching the television serials on which they can comment but lack the authority to alter the scene they don’t like. Most of their energy is invested in criticizing the leaders and the decisions taken by them. But writing a few articles and delivering a few speeches don’t suffice to shape the decisions. They need power to influence, to make and to correct them. And only the active participation in political affairs could provide them the opportunity to grab the power.

Why do the intellectuals of our country dare not to participate in politics? Why do they retract themselves from the real struggle for power? One but very important answer among many is that they think politics to be a filthy game played by corrupt people. They don’t want to be morally corrupted and subdue their ethnicity by their active indulgence in politics. They regard themselves morally pure and above party politics which satisfy their ego with a false sense of superiority.

I have a similar kind of opinion regarding politics. I know that one can’t preserve his/her morality secure with the direct involvement in politics. The game, by its very nature, requires trick to be played. But our intellectuals are not ready to sacrifice their honesty and self-respect for the benefit of our society, for the welfare of our nation. Even the tricks played by Lord Krishna in the Mahabharata, can’t be justified as moral. However, he played them for the sake of humanity and to establish a harmonious society. His goal was pure.

At the program mentioned above, unlike Dr. Bhandari, Dr. Krishna Chandra Sharma seemed to be a bit progressive. He didn’t negate the direct involvement in politics. Rather, asked for a fight by the intellectuals to get their due respect. However, his intention was not to involve in party politics rather to work as a real pressure group. But, it would not work out party politics is necessary to motivate the people, to get their support and to handle the government so that they could work for the betterment of the people and the nation.

"You are incapable of producing better ones than Koirala and Nepal and so did some one called Mr. Dahal wrote in one Broad sheet daily recently. However, his optimism got presented in this way, "If the people don’t want them to come to power again, they beat them at the polls in favor of better ones". But our intellectuals are not going to offer them the opportunity to select the better ones. They are slepping with their eyes open.

Our nation desperately requires the intellectuals to interfere in the political affairs so that they could earn a stable political solution to it. But, more miserably, they are in the process of handing down the tendency to retreat from the direct involvement in politics to the next generation.

The author is currently studying Masters, Second Year, English literature at the T.U: Chief editor.

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