The Time to Revive the Rural Economy of Nepal

Tens of thousands of Nepali youths are working as a low grade in Gulf countries are in pressure from COVID-19 pandemics. Nepal should engage them to revive the rural agricultural economy is the right direction.

      

The world is terrified of the human disaster caused by COVID-19 this time. More than 2, 182, 82 3 people are infected and 145,551 have died around the world so far. The pandemic is not only affecting human life but also pushing the world toward a serious economic crisis. After, if the pandemic comes under control, the world will be suffering for a long time from great economic problems. In this situation, superpowers will be running to protect their interests but poor countries will be in a serious financial crisis. Their already weak economy would be collapsed during the anti-COVID-19 Lockdown. Nepal also will be in the row of these poor countries. It will be a bitter reality.

 The rural economy of Nepal was dependent on traditional agriculture is about to collapse. People are leaving agriculture because it is unable to provide the minimum requirements of dependents.   However, the statics showing poverty is come down to 25 percent is the major cause of remittance. It is a positive but temporary symptom for the economy. There is an estimate, about 15 00 youths were leaving the country daily at the starting of 2019. Nepal received 784 billion remittances in the fiscal year 2018-19 is a remarkable contribution to GDP. Although the rate of remittance is falling down before the COVID-19 pandemic, the imposition of lockdown as a precaution of pandemics is an additional factor for the crises of the economy

  

 Leaving agriculture and converted it to the remittance is a very risk factor for the economy. It may be a temporary situation but not a basic direction for the development. It is no doubt that Nepal is going to learn a lesson from the trustless character of a remittance based economy shortly.

  

In the meantime, a pandemic COVID-19 is continuously affecting the world for the last four months. Nepali workers are facing problems in abroad because they are losing jobs in various foreign countries due to pandemics. In the situation, it is a serious problem for Nepal. Gulf and south east-Asian countries are the main hubs for Nepali low graded labors.

Saudi Arabia has urging strictly to its all foreign employees, to return their countries among ongoing pandemics. Most of the Nepali workers have been working in Saudi Arabia. It is not good news for Nepal. To the rapid rescue of citizens from that country is not easy for Nepal during the lockdown. However, Nepal is trying to solve the issue through the diplomatic way. Human rights organization Amnesty International has condemned the inhuman step of Saudi Arab.

 It will be a great problem for Nepal to manage the job for the youths return from Saudi Arab and remittance based economy of Nepal also lose the ground. Probably, the economist and government have not any plan to deal with the problem among the pandemics.

Nepal has not any special capability or any industrial infrastructure to manage unemployment, this time. Few industries already wipe in the storm of neo-liberalism three decades ago. At this time, there is not an alternative for Nepal except for the mobilization of the agricultural sector, especially in the rural areas.

Being unemployed youths are fleeing from the rural areas to the world labor market the lands remain waste in Nepal because of thousand years old agricultural system. Thousands of hector arable land is not in use in rural areas because of the scarcity of laboring manpower. The government has to plan to reuse the land for agriculture with technology and engage youths in productivity. This is a dependable and right way for the development of Nepal.