ネパールへの肥料援助とカトマンズ盆地における農業の変化

概要

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Nepal that does not produce chemical fertilizer imports it and receives it from industrialized countries as assistance for development of agriculture. Agricultural Input Cooperative (AIC) in Nepalese Government distributes fertilizer monopolistically. The prices of fertilizer are deter-mined by AIC. The authorized merchants of fertilizer have decisive power in the fertilizer market and they do not sell the fertilizer at the government decided prices. Farmers must buy the fertilizer at the black market.<BR>Our research at Sankhu village in Kathmandu basin shows that the irrigation system in the village is not managed efficiently. The lack of enough irrigation water in dry season makes it difficult to grow rice. More than ten years ago, the farmers in this village generally produced wheat in the dry season. After that they introduced potatoes instead of wheat. The production of potatoes using irrigated water increased as a cash crop.<BR>The HYV of rice also introduced in this area within ten years. The large portions of paddy field are owned by absentee landlords. Nearly one forth of produced rice must be payed as a rent to the landlords. For the farmers the production of potatoes is more attractive than rice production as a cash crop. Our case study shows that it is more important for farmers to produce potatoes than wheat in dry season.