The government is preparing to start drafting 20-year long vision
document of Agriculture Development Strategy (ADS) afresh after newly
inducted representatives from farmers associations refused to accept
previous team´s assessment of Agricultural Perspective Plan (APP).
Though a steering committee entrusted to draft the ADS, which will replace APP once it ends in 2015, had already completed the assessment of the APP and also developed vision of ADS, newly inducted Prem Dangal, general secretary of the All Nepal Peasants Federation said the whole process needs rework because the evaluations done by the previous team were faulty.
“APP was a complete failure, but their assessment does not reflect that. If we accept it, we will stand on faulty premises and that will misguide the new vision, plan and strategy,” said Dangal, adding that the government has already given nod to restart the whole exercise afresh.
However, sources said the government has not taken any concrete decision on the matter particularly as the exercises carried out so far was funded by multilateral and bilateral donors and outright rejection of report prepared by experts they assigned could ´hurt their sentiment´.
Finance Secretary Krishna Hari Baskota, who chaired a meeting of ADS stakeholders this week, said that they reached an conclusion to rethink the assessment and vision report of previous team as farmers representatives strongly expressed dissatisfaction.
“But we will take a concrete decision only after discussions with concerned ministers,” he told Republica, adding that a meeting between Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MoAC) and Ministry of Finace (MoF) will be held soon to decide on the matter.
Nonetheless, he added that there was no meaning of continuing the draft process when farmers are completely against it.
A meeting held last Monday had asked the ADS steering committee to stop working till the government makes concrete decision whether to own the work that has been completed so far.
The government had initiated process to develop ADS in 2011 and had formed a committee under the leadership of Francesco Goletti, a policy and institutional specialist and president of Agrifood Consulting International - New York University. The team included former bureaucrats and foreign consultants.
The document was being prepared with technical assistance from the Asian development Bank, the World Bank and USAID, among other 7 donors. The government has allocated US$ 2 million (about Rs 160 million) for developing ADS.
Farmers´ Organizations had been strongly protesting the approach the government adopted for preparing such a crucial document, saying that vision document prepared in the absence of farmers´ representatives might not address their concerns and agricultural reality of the country.
Though a steering committee entrusted to draft the ADS, which will replace APP once it ends in 2015, had already completed the assessment of the APP and also developed vision of ADS, newly inducted Prem Dangal, general secretary of the All Nepal Peasants Federation said the whole process needs rework because the evaluations done by the previous team were faulty.
“APP was a complete failure, but their assessment does not reflect that. If we accept it, we will stand on faulty premises and that will misguide the new vision, plan and strategy,” said Dangal, adding that the government has already given nod to restart the whole exercise afresh.
However, sources said the government has not taken any concrete decision on the matter particularly as the exercises carried out so far was funded by multilateral and bilateral donors and outright rejection of report prepared by experts they assigned could ´hurt their sentiment´.
Finance Secretary Krishna Hari Baskota, who chaired a meeting of ADS stakeholders this week, said that they reached an conclusion to rethink the assessment and vision report of previous team as farmers representatives strongly expressed dissatisfaction.
“But we will take a concrete decision only after discussions with concerned ministers,” he told Republica, adding that a meeting between Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MoAC) and Ministry of Finace (MoF) will be held soon to decide on the matter.
Nonetheless, he added that there was no meaning of continuing the draft process when farmers are completely against it.
A meeting held last Monday had asked the ADS steering committee to stop working till the government makes concrete decision whether to own the work that has been completed so far.
The government had initiated process to develop ADS in 2011 and had formed a committee under the leadership of Francesco Goletti, a policy and institutional specialist and president of Agrifood Consulting International - New York University. The team included former bureaucrats and foreign consultants.
The document was being prepared with technical assistance from the Asian development Bank, the World Bank and USAID, among other 7 donors. The government has allocated US$ 2 million (about Rs 160 million) for developing ADS.
Farmers´ Organizations had been strongly protesting the approach the government adopted for preparing such a crucial document, saying that vision document prepared in the absence of farmers´ representatives might not address their concerns and agricultural reality of the country.
