The government has reduced the budget for the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development despite declaring ten years from 2024 as an agriculture decade.

Presenting the budget for the fiscal year 2024/25 in the joint house of the federal parliament, Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun announced that the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development’s budget for the next fiscal year is Rs 57.29 billion.

In the current fiscal year, Rs58.98 billion was allocated for agriculture, while Rs55.97 billion was earmarked for the sector in the previous fiscal year.

The government has allocated Rs27.95 billion for the purchase of chemical fertilizers. It had allocated Rs30 billion for the purpose of the current fiscal year. Shortage of fertilizers is common during the paddy plantation session.

Finance Minister Pun has said Rs2.25 billion has been allocated to promote sugarcane farming. The government had allocated Rs800 million in the current fiscal year.