Kathmandu – I am not an agricultural expert; I am a farmer’s son. I worked in agriculture when I was young. As I grew up, I decided not to pursue agriculture as a career. Therefore, I am not a farmer now, but I have a farmer’s ‘gene’ in my blood. When I see plants, I love them, and when they see me, the plants also love me. How did I make the garden? If not with a spade, I worked it with my fingers. The plants cared for by my friends did not flourish as well. They used to say, “We are doing the same thing.” I would reply, “You have reduced your love for them; they can sense it.”

When I was in Pokhara prison, I used to do a bit of farming. The vegetables and fruits I planted grew well, and others were surprised. Plants, especially, remember how much people love them. Cows and buffaloes also know whether they are loved or not. If they are angry, people say the cow has hidden its milk. If they are unhappy or unsatisfied, they won’t give milk. An animal kissed by someone it trusts will give more milk.

There is a significant problem with education in the agricultural sector. The activity of those aged 14 to 65 has decreased. Only the elderly depend on it, and that is not an active workforce. Children are also dependent on agriculture. It is unclear how much of the workforce, over 60 percent, relies on agriculture.

Milk doesn’t come whenever it’s wanted; if the cow is unhappy, it hides the milk even when paid. Now, machines extract as much as possible. We should teach farmers that agricultural crops should be nurtured with happiness and love, and they will yield more in return. Livestock responds to their environment. They like instruments, music, and songs. If you use tools they don’t like or play harsh sounds, it doesn’t benefit them.

What is the current production level in fisheries? How many fish ponds are there? How much is taken from the rivers? We shouldn’t rely too much on what is taken from the rivers. We should let the fish play there, relying more on lake fish. River fish can’t be caught as much. We need to set fisheries goals. If you want to eat bird meat, it must be domesticated.

Do not go to the forest and hunt indiscriminately. Fishing in rivers and killing birds in forests disrupts the ecosystem. If you want to eat fruit, it must be grown. Milk comes from cows and buffaloes. Apart from cow’s milk, only excrement will be used. Those who emphasize buffaloes are correct.

It is possible that in the future, some people will consume only cow’s milk, not buffalo milk. Therefore, it is natural not to rely solely on dairy milk. Both cows and buffaloes exist, so it’s hard to say that only cow’s milk will be traded in the future. Buffalo milk tastes sweet, but cow’s ghee is considered sweeter.

What is the difference between what to do in the hilly areas and the plains? What are our achievements? What is our goal? This year’s goal and achievement should be slightly higher than last year. We will break past records in all areas. With increased production, sales, and distribution compared to last year, we will also set new records in income.

There is a significant problem with education in the agricultural sector. The activity of those aged 14 to 65 has decreased. Only the elderly depend on it, and that is not an active workforce. Children are also dependent on agriculture. It is unclear how much of the workforce, over 60 percent, relies on agriculture.

People write about business farmers but don’t rely on agriculture. Sons and daughters are working, and the main source of income is employment. Agriculture does not provide that job; it is a means of survival. All systems start with food. Nature has made every living thing dependent on it.

Soil is also alive. The soil is not infertile. Nature has a quality that whoever accepts it becomes compatible with it. The same rice that a goat eats, a person eats and becomes healthy. This adaptation is a characteristic of nature. We call this adaptation the ‘ecosystem,’ the natural cycle. One’s food is another’s manure, and another’s food becomes manure for the next.

One abandons it, and another eats it, slightly transformed. We apply manure, and apples grow from it. We eat those apples, and the manure is used again. The manure from one is accepted by another, and so on. You should open ‘Excellence Centers’ to make a difference in every area or develop agricultural techniques. It is necessary to train farmers in villages on how to plant crops effectively.

Yesterday, the family was a unit of production. Today, there is no production unit in the family. My grandfather had a farm, a garden, and a barn. Rice, corn, millet, and mustard were produced in their fields. Animal husbandry was done in their barn and pasture. They didn’t have to buy anything except salt. One abandons it, and another eats it, slightly transformed. We apply manure, and apples grow from it. We eat those apples, and the manure is used again. The manure from one is absorbed by another, and so on.

The production of a family was the consumption of the family, and the economy thrived on that. But now, everything is unclear. Production trends, patterns, and methods differ. If we do not change what is different, we will call them barren fields. We must now move toward professionalism.

Where did the world come from? If the family is to be a unit of production, they should engage in similar farming. Let’s plant trees and fruits all over Kanla, and grow grain in the fields. I remember, when I was little, we had an orange garden at home. There were two or four pear trees. There were large pears ripening in June to those ripening in November. Small pears have a unique taste. Amba was everywhere in Kanla. Pomegranates also grew well when planted. All these kinds of fruits grew naturally. It doesn’t work that way anymore.

I also plant pomegranates and mangoes, but it doesn’t work as it did before in my personal experience. Farmers should not plant one crop at a time. Doing so damages the quality of the crop. Therefore, if there is a cooperative, it should be a cooperative; if not, it should move to collective farming. By doing so, finding a market becomes easier. A large quantity is produced after planting the same crop, which helps in marketing.

I heard that in Kailali, last year or the year before, farmers threw gourds in the fields because they couldn’t sell them. Gourds in everyone’s house—who would buy them? No one. If there had been one or two truckloads, they could have reached Kathmandu. When they didn’t sell, the only option was to throw them away.

If a large quantity of tomatoes is produced, a pickle industry can be established. They can produce tomato paste, juice, or many other products. So let’s focus on large quantities and new innovations. The word “innovation” is better and easier to understand. Apply new, innovative ideas to make a mark everywhere. Let’s pay attention to where moisture centers or animal health centers can be opened.

After 2020, America worked to eliminate malaria. At that time, they had inspectors and sprayers. They had to record the house number because they sprayed it. The number of families in the house was in their records. It was marked on the house with color and had to be corrected. A sprayer would ensure it was done right. The inspector would come and correct it under the sprayer. I don’t know when the inspector would come, but he would come to the house.

The main thing is how to check. Is our project good or not? For example, he took a helicopter from Kathmandu, suddenly went to Janakpur, landed in a school ground, and visited the surrounding villages. He checked which months had been inspected, which hadn’t, and which houses had been reached, visiting five to seven houses as samples. He went to another place and checked the same way. There, the place to sign was on a pillar or a wall, and he did it there. He ensured it was done. After that, no one could lie about having gone.

Which house was visited on which date should be corrected in that house. There is a place on the wall that needs to be fixed. Why can’t we develop such a system? You’ll know after sampling one or two places. It’s necessary to go to unexpected places and check thoroughly. After that, they have nowhere to hide. Let’s make this a regional plan.

The development of our country is impossible without change and transformation in agriculture. The Green Revolution came to America in the 1930s, to Europe in the 1940s, and to India in 1968. By 1968, America had taken the Green Revolution much further. As a result, even after feeding a population of one and a half billion people, they export food to us. Our population is only 30 million, yet what we produce is not enough to feed us.

India is now producing onions like Japan and China, growing large quantities. India started the Green Revolution from 1965 to 1968 and carried it forward. Their buffaloes became known as Gujarati. It was customary to call crossbred cows brought from Britain as British cows. Now they are called Jersey cows. If the meeting room was a bit more dynamic, it would have been British.

British cows and British dogs were valued after the movement. If they understood a little, they would say it was British. India brought something from Britain and elsewhere. While other countries were progressing, Nepal was stagnating. The Panchayat era saw King Mahendra try to develop. However, the pace of development from