13.4 Government policies support to realize their bioeconomy vision and objectives
The 2006 Agro-Business Promotion Policy (ABPP)
In order to achieve diversification, enhance service delivery, and involve the private sector in transforming agriculture from subsistence farming into a commercially viable industry, the Agricultural Business Promotion Policy of (2006) was implemented. Its main objective is to lessen poverty by encouraging competitive, market-oriented agricultural production for both local and global markets. The policy calls for certain actions, like encouraging public-private partnerships for the provision of services and allocating funds for infrastructure related to processing, marketing, and storage. These actions have proven effective and have the potential to be repeated with more funding. Commercialization, diversification, and active private sector involvement in commercial farming are prioritised by the ABPP. Its goal is to turn agriculture from a means of subsistence to a business. The policy highlights the creation of business service centres to offer premium agricultural inputs and services and recognises the role that infrastructure development plays in promoting commercialization. In addition, it supports a cooperative strategy between the public and private sectors to encourage the export of superior agricultural goods. Agribusiness projects may be used as collateral for loans under the terms of the ABPP, which also provide a 25 % discount on electricity rates for the first ten years after the establishment of an industry. The policy also delineates strategies for market and processing facility development via public-private partnerships (PPP). In order to empower those involved in the agriculture industry, it also seeks to improve agricultural information systems, such as those that provide statistics and market data.
The 2004 National Agricultural Policy (NAP)
The National Agriculture Policy of 2004 is designed to transform the subsistence-oriented agricultural system into a competitive and commercial one. It focuses on strengthening agricultural production, promoting resource conservation, and maintaining environmental sustainability. Strategies include meeting the needs of farmers, particularly those with limited resources, and engaging stakeholders at various levels in policy formulation. The policy establishes agricultural development committees and emphasizes high-value agricultural products and organic farming. It aims to enhance competitiveness in regional and global markets. (Pradhananget et al., 2015).
The Forestry Sector Policy 2000
Regarding farmers’ use of forests for livestock grazing and fodder collection, the Local Self-Governance System (LSS) is affected by the 2000 Forestry Sector Policy, also called the Forest Policy. This policy has a number of advantages and strong points:
1. In order to ease the transition from institutional and group leasehold forestry to Community Forestry User Groups (CFUGs), emphasises integrating the leasehold forestry programme with regional community development.
2. Introduces the idea of the Operational Forest Management Plan (OFMP) and suggests implementing commercial forest management in larger forest blocks in the Terai and Inner Terai districts. This recommendation is in line with the main goals of the previous Agricultural Perspective Plan (APP).
3. Seek to determine a relationship between the quantity of animals and highland pasture availability and (Pradhananget et al., 2015).