Let's grow our own

The state cannot remain a mute spectator when market-driven imports are causing a dent in the economy.

The transition from being an agricultural country to a food import-dependent country is not too long, as Nepal’s import-export data over the past two decades have shown. As the Post reported on Thursday, food imports, primarily from neighbouring India, have continued to soar in the years gone by, with the fiscal year 2020-21 seeing a 39 percent year-on-year increment. The amount of money we spend on rice imports is enough to let us know how badly we are faring. In 2020-21, Nepal imported 1.2 million tonnes of rice worth a whopping $402.91 million. That is a monumental increase from the imports two decades ago, where we imported 8,025 tonnes worth $1.74 million.