When Nepal adopted a republican, democratic form of government, it did so with the hope that centuries of feudalism would be unshackled, and that everyone would have equal access to government and all the facilities and responsibilities that this entails. But given the diversity in geography, socio-cultural values and opportunity, the country had to go one step further to enable true equity and equality among its citizens.

Sadly, although lawmakers had pronounced that Singha Durbar would reach ‘every doorstep’, the process to move Nepal to an effective federal structure has been severely lacking. In every essential sector, from access to administrative facilities to healthcare to education, Kathmandu has been attempting to withhold power from the provincial and local governments. Yet, with the intention of federalism being in the right, the system was bound to find a way to work, despite the attempts of the centre to slow it down.

It is in this light that the efforts of the Gandaki government, and the Bihadi rural municipality under it, have to be lauded. The true purpose of a federal system is to adopt local and context-specific solutions that work to better the lives of the people. Understanding this, the provincial government in Gandaki has proposed a list of villages under its jurisdiction that would benefit from agriculture subsidies. The local government at Bihadi, one of the would-be beneficiaries identified by Gandaki’s list, understood the feasibility of agriculture works in the area—especially in animal husbandry.

To this regard, the local government has allocated Rs800,000 in their budget to provide locals with a Rs20,000 rebate on the purchase of lactating cows or buffaloes. The purpose of the subsidy is to provide the youths of the rural municipality an alternative to going abroad to look for work, in livestock farming. Further, with the hopes of this scheme helping boost milk production, the local government also is looking towards investing in milk collection vehicles. It has already begun to invest in upgrading roads to improve connectivity and reduce transportation costs.

The layered planning and strategy that Bihadi has implemented to help support self-employment and sustainability is commendable. By taking its cues from the provincial government, about the sectors feasible in the area, the local government then took the initiative to support said sectors. This is an example of federalism working in the best of ways. Although it remains to be seen whether the scheme will indeed boost productivity and employment in Bihadi and other parts of Gandaki, and whether indeed the youths will give up dreams of going abroad to support agriculture at home, this is definitely a step in the right direction.

For a long time, agriculture, whether sustenance-based or commercial, helped Nepal stave off complete impoverishment. For centuries, the sector was the biggest contributor to the country’s income. The tourism sector has been recently facing significant setbacks due to planning failures. And, as the Covid-19 pandemic has shown, unplanned externalities can further affect the economy by hitting tourism and foreign employment. As South Korea and Qatar temporarily block their markets from accepting Nepali labour, the fragility of depending on remittances as a major income earner is exposed. That Gandaki and Bihadi are focusing on agriculture is another reason that the move should be celebrated.

However, as with anything, implementation is key. It remains to be seen whether the feasibility of building up agriculture in the area was studied well. But the move itself should be used as a model by other provinces and local governments, to identify their sectors of strength and to then support them.

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