Kathmandu, Sept. 1 -- Despite two-thirds of its population dependent on agriculture, and having fertile land ideal for farming, Nepal's annual food imports arerising exponentiallydue to a growing population and rising income.

Imports of staples like rice, vegetables, and fruits that can easily be produced in Nepal are rising steeply.In the last 60 years, while Nepal's population more thantripledfrom 9.4 million to almost 30 million, paddy productivity has merely doubled from 1.8 tonnes per hectare to 3.8. As a result, Nepal's grain import touchedRs80billion in the last fiscal year, of whichrice alone made upRs50billion.

Maize harvests have only risen from 1.6 tonnes per hectare to 2.6 in the last three decades, and Nepal had to import R...