Why Nepal should allow FDI in agriculture

The country needs foreign capital and technology to lift it out of subsistence farming.

Nepal is now immersed in a new debate about whether she should allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in agriculture. The country's farm sector faces chronic under-investment, under-production and a severe lag in mechanisation and modernisation. For these reasons, Nepal must welcome all forms of investment in agriculture to lift it from the present state of subsistence farming and small-holding production practices. Nepal has been practising subsistence agriculture for centuries primarily due to land fragmentation, and this condition persists even till date. Post-Covid-19, the number of people engaged in agriculture is likely to increase with migrant labourers returning home. Nepal’s food supply has mostly remained import-dependent. Though no precise data is available, recent estimates suggest that the import of agricultural products continues to increase, and reached an all-time high of more than Rs250