Government promises fertilizer factories for 42 years; farmers’ suffering remains the same
Summary
Despite repeated promises and budget allocations for chemical fertilizer factories over the past decades, Nepalese farmers continue to face fertilizer shortages, with government plans yet to materialize after nearly 40 years of studies.
Key Points
- Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel has repeatedly promised to establish chemical fertilizer factories across multiple budgets but with little progress.
- The government allocates nearly half of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development's budget to fertilizer subsidies, yet farmers still face shortages.
- Multiple feasibility studies over 42 years confirm the challenges of establishing domestic fertilizer factories, mainly due to electricity shortages and lack of political will.
- Recent efforts including a task force and feasibility reports from Germany's DIAG Industries GmbH aim to advance plans for a factory, but no concrete steps have been taken yet.
