Nepal, May 30 -- Although Nepal continues to import goods it produces domestically, the government has failed to significantly increase the budget needed to boost agricultural production. As domestic food output remains insufficient and the country imports rice, the government has set a target to increase paddy production by around 1.2 million tons in the upcoming fiscal year 2025/26.

Despite this target, the government raised the agriculture budget by only Rs 190 million compared to the current fiscal year 2024/25. Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel allocated a total of Rs 57.48 billion to the agriculture and livestock sector for the next fiscal year. He noted that the current fiscal year's budget had set aside Rs 57.29 billion for the same...