Kathmandu June 21:

The Annapurna Rural Municipality in Kaski is to launch the ‘Youth Self Employment and Youth Target Programme’ aimed at attracting youths to agriculture. The programme will pursue to use knowledge, skills and experiences of those youth rendered jobless at home and abroad due to COVID-19 crisis and to make such force self-employed and eventually make the village self-sufficient in agriculture, according to Rural Municipality Chair Yubaraj Kuwar. Under the programme, pocket areas for vegetables, fruits and cash crops farming will be declared on the basis of potentiality of available agricultural land, production of both off-season and seasonal fruits and vegetables will be promoted and the modernization, specialization and commercialization of agriculture will be sought as manifested in the local government’s policies and programmes for the upcoming fiscal year. One house one tunnel, establishment of a chilling center at wards having potentiality of agriculture, of an agricultural produces collection and marketisation will take place under the programme. Besides, it adheres to the policy of promoting and expanding coffee zone, cardamom zone and orange pocket area programmes being implemented as crash crops special zone programmes in coordination with the State government. Besides, small irrigation programmes will be prioritized and implemented to increase production and productivity.