Aruna Gaitonde
Editor-in-Chief of the Asian Bureau, Mumbai 
Although there is sufficient stock to last till the monsoon, it is predicted that Nepal will witness significant reductions in the harvest of wheat and other winter crops in the coming months, says the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in a survey of food security in Nepal.
According to the WFP, food stocks in the markets are now sufficient but will last for the next three months only. It is understood that the Nepal Food Management and Trading Company (FMTC) has nearly 24,000 metric tonnes of food stocks with the procurement of a further 10,000 MT planned.
Observers think that although healthy winter rains favoured the wheat crop, it could reduce harvests drastically. The reason being the nationwide lockdown at harvest time, which has now lasted one full month. Also, with the possibility of the lockdown to be extended beyond 27 April, and the absence of farmhands, may also affect harvesting.
In the event of the lockdown continuing, it could also affect the paddy planting season with serious implications for food security in 2020. In addition, India has halted rice exports, and the new export contracts with Nepali traders have been stopped since early this month. As India is also under lockdown, the farmers in India are also facing problems harvesting winter crops, fruits, vegetables and other crops.
In Nepal, although food markets remain open, food prices have gone up- with vegetables costing twice as much as before the lockdown. Dairy and poultry products are also facing problems with delivery to market and distribution.
The WFP predicts that if this situation were to continue beyond a month, a subsequent depletion of cereal and pulses stock will occur, especially in remote markets. This could push staple prices even higher in the absence of decisive government intervention.
