Out of 7 countries in South Asia 4 lie in LDCs. Those are Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives and Nepal. It is estimated that of the 1150 million poor people in the developing countries of the world, 800 million (72 per cent) live in the Asian region, and the poor are heavily concentrated in South Asia. Approximately 520 million of poor are in the region. Among the SAARC countries, the proportion of people in absolute poverty is much higher in Bangladesh followed by Nepal. The poverty is much higher in the rural sector than in the urban areas. Peasants remain largely illiterate in South Asia. This is one of the main reasons why they are oppressed by capitalism and neo-imperialist mechanisms such as MNCs, TNCs, WB, IMF and other institutions with their local collaborators.

The SAARC region is rich in many resources. It is not fully utilized for the benefit of the people of the region. Its land, minerals, water resources, bio-diversity are an immense wealth. The region has with a large reserve of human resources. The region has common problem of poverty, unemployment, destitute and bonded labours.

Low levels of per capita income, small growth rates, skewed distribution of income and the pressure of large and rapidly growing population have greatly contributed to the prevalence of widespread poverty in region.

Women are dominated in all aspects in agricultural as well as other sectors of society. Women's work in the field and in the house holds are considered invisible and unproductive labour despite women's labour constituting at least 50% of the total work in agriculture. Women also have limited or no economic rights. Women, in general, are not given equal rights over properties including land.

There is a common problem in agricultural sector in South Asian Countries. South Asian Countries are not able to come out from feudalistic exploitation in agricultural sector. The means of agriculture production are not in the hands of actual peasants. Those who are working in the land they might not have their own land. They are also not getting the proper and reasonable wage. Poverty and deprivation is characteristics of the tillers of the soil.

Because of similarity in the situations in South Asia Region, I would like to explain about the situation of food security, food security and agricultural, sustainable development, farming pattern, model of land reforms on the basis of Nepalese context.

Food Security

SAP policies are complementing the WTO of trade liberalization. WTO has also included the MNCs/ TNCs agenda for further control of the economy, politics and culture in LDCs through policies in foreign investment, services and intellectual property rights.

All these policies have had and are having devastating effects and impact on the lives and rights of every peasant men, women and children, and the environment in LDCs.

The food security in LDCs has been severely endangered. Forcing the peasants into cash crop production for dollar to pay foreign debt our food crop production has been reduced to non-subsistence level.

Dumping of agricultural imports from developed countries to LDCs has pushed local farm product prices lower than ever. It has resulted in lower farm income, wages, bankruptcy, marginalization and landlessness. That has also directly effected on national food security.

In Bangladesh, nearly 75 per cent of the total population directly or indirectly depends on agriculture for their livelihood and more than half the population is below the food-based poverty line. The contribution of agriculture in GDP is one third. In India 65 per cent of labour force engages in agriculture, but the contribution from agriculture in national economy is only 26 per cent. Approximately 90 percent of the country's population live in villages and 81percent are relying on agriculture for their livelihood in Nepal. Geographically it is a small country but rich in Bio-diversity. Out of 75 districts 55 lie in Mountain that normally face food deficit problem. The Terai is fertile land for production of grain and other cash crops. It used to and still supplies food grain to some extent to the mountainous area and mostly to Himalayan districts.

It is ironical that a country's economy is based on agriculture has been becoming a food importer. People are dying from hunger and starvation in the LDCs. It is happening every where in the world. Nearly 20 per cent world's population consumes around 85 percent of total food production and the remaining 80 percent are consuming 14 percent of the total production. Only two years back in Karnali zone, a most remote areas of the country where almost thousand people died because of hunger and starvation. Only last year government removed food depots of starving areas mainly of remote area. So the issues of food security has become serious in the country.

In the past, the surplus food from the Terai used to be compensated in food deficit areas particularly in the hills. Not only this, the country used to be called net food exporter country around in 1970s. Now even the Terai belt has suffered to produce enough food to feed the rapidly increasing population in the area. The issue of food security needs to be addressed and analyzed from the perspectives of human rights, equity and social justice within the framework of access to and control over production, distribution and consumption patterns.

Some instances of food insecurity

Just this year, the price of the paddy had slumped to almost equal to chaff (Bhus) in most of the countries in South Asia. It had effected more in Nepal. Concerned authorities and the government had not paid any attention to address this problem. Peasants toiled their sweat for its production but were forced to sell only even without getting their wage. Government's version for slumping the paddy's price was increment of its production. In fact it was not true. The main reason to occur such worst situation of paddy's price in the region particularly in Nepal was the flood of cheap paddy into the country. Because of liberalization policy, through which the dumped and low quality of paddy and rice had been imported.

Peasants have been deprived of getting reasonable price of their production. Once Nepal was a second largest country in Jute production. But after they were deprived of getting even the wages of the labour, peasants burned it out and left to cultivate it. Now the factories are importing jute from other countries. Few years ago, tobacco was also one of the main cash crops in the country. It had also faced same problem of not getting the profitable price. Then peasants slowly left it to farm. Now sugarcane is becoming a main cash crop of the country but the sugarcane producing peasants have been struggling to get profitable price of their products. If effective policy should not be adopted to enable the farmers to produce sugarcane in simplified easy and cost-effective way, then they would be also discouraged in farming sugarcane.

Government is leaving the agricultural sector behind and stopping the facilities that were provided to peasants by the state. Previously, the government used to declare the profitable price of the staples food grains and the line agencies, used to purchase such grain. But after implementing the liberalization policy in the country no such provisions are available and the government, its agencies have totally left dealing of fixing reasonable price of the farm products. As a result peasants' have to compete with the subsidized import that flooded from the developed countries and MNCs.

Agro- loan is a very important factor in the process of the production. But the interest of the agricultural loan has become very costly. Every where peasants' have to pay extra money as bribe (ghus) to get loan. At the same time loan's interest is too high. Bank accepts deposits from peasants giving only 5 percent interest where as it lends loan to peasants charging up to 21 percent. Why is such difference? Therefore, arrangement should be made for the annual payment of interest and installment payment to the principal. The system of compound interest should be abrogated.

Previously government had given enough subsidy on agricultural loan, small irrigation, fertilizers and seeds. But for the last four\five years the subsidy that was given to peasants has been removed completely and now no more subsidy is given in agricultural inputs. Peasants' concerned has been to establish the subsidy as of the previous rate. Provision of fertilizers, seeds and technology needed by the farmers should be made effective, simplified and accessible in every corner. Only this year, the fertilizers mainly the price of Urea has been hiked three times.

Having not received the profitable price of the agriculture products and being deprived of getting the facilities over agriculture inputs, peasants are getting frustrated in agriculture as their occupation. As a result production is decreasing, which directly effects on the national food security of LDCs.

Sustainable Agriculture and Environment

Our land, water and forest have suffered enormous pollution, degradation and irreparable destruction. Reckless chemical farming has poisoned our soil, water and air as well as endangered the health of both farmers and consumers. Modern farm systems and MNCs have misused and abused our water resources, underground or surface, river or lake. Poverty has pushed some, of us to contribute in deforestation in form of slash and burn farming, logging and charcoal making.

In regards to agricultural production, it is also important as peasants live together with nature and they produce in collaboration with nature. But these days, peasants are facing series of complex problems with the environment. For the social, economical and cultural development of the peasants, sustainable agriculture in this region is a must. Agriculture now faces grave problems of environmental degradation, pollution in water, soil and air. The environment problem are caused due to the following reason:

1. Over exploitation of natural resources perpetrated by the developed countries and their MNCs;
2. Deforestation creating floods, droughts, cyclones and ecological imbalances;
3. Reckless use of chemical fertilizers, insecticides, and pesticides in agricultural production; increasing soil acidity and poisoning;
4. Lack of management of water resources causing multifarious problems.

So we should firmly adhere to the basic principles goals of sustainable agriculture and ecological balance, Our agricultural programs will be:

1. Promoting minimal use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, insecticides and other toxic.
2. Using more effectively bio-gas and bio-fertilizers
3. Applying appropriate technology, credit input should be facilitated to the farmers.
4. Integrating credit policies with sustainable agriculture

In order to enhance the productive capacities in agricultural and also have the access to means of production, there should be a program of Land and agrarian reforms. It is required that the means of production should be in the hand of productive force.

The main means of production in South Asia is land and the main productive forces are peasants and agricultural labors. So those forces must have the access over the land resources. But the Land as a main means of production has been kept by landlords. The peasants who work on land for twenty four hours are deprived of land rights. Among the land most of the productive one is in the hand of such feudal landlords and has not been well utilized. This adverse situation has to be abolished and the progressive production relation needs to be established to enhance productive capacities in agriculture and also for the welfare of the peasants as well.

In order to fulfill the shortage of the food deficit and also enhance the productive capacity in the agricultural, there should be clear policy for the maximum utilization of land. Land should be divided on the basis of its fertility, geographical location, environmental sensitivity and climate. While classifying, land for agriculture, forest, grazing and residential and industrial areas must be clearly allocated. For example, the low land with fertility can be used for agriculture, whereas the barren and rocky lands can be used for residence and market development. Similarly, agricultural land also can be classified in accordance with the geographical shape, the degree of fertility and the climate for various crops.

It entirely depends on the situation as to whether family farming or intensive farming to start with. We need to increase production and for this intensive farming is necessary. We have to acquire the land before to have such intensive farming. Simultaneously, we have to see that the peasants' are given the right of the land. Most of the peasants are scattered here and there with little and without land. Their farming methodology is still traditional. As a result the production is declining gradually. This system could not support any more for the modernization, mechanization, specialization in the crops. We have also limited land and it could not be extended.

Land situation in South Asia

The land reform, which was declared and implemented by the late King Mahendra under the Panchayat System in 1964, introduced land ceiling. This helped to eliminate some extend of landlords. However, still there are many landlords who maintain large areas of land in the name of other person or with fake name. Under the current provision the maximum ceiling of holding is 16 hectares in Terai region. This is too high ceiling when the average holding of less than one hectare is more than 70%. It is also not the same in the mountain and hilly areas where the maximum land ceiling is 4 hectare. This is not fair and just. So the ceiling needs to be decreased and the discrimination in respect of land ceiling between Terai and Hilly area should be removed.

In India, according to the national sample survey (48th round, 1991-92) the landless and near landless constitute 42.4 per cent of the rural households of the country. On the other hand 3.8 per cent of households have holdings above 4 hectors (9.88) and own 31. 5 per cent of the area. After independence land reforms became a major agenda for the economic and social development of India. But the agenda failed as a whole barring a few states like West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura.

In Bangladesh, 28.8 per cent of the total rural population is without cultivable land. More than half of the total agriculture households has less than 0.5 hectare of land. The latest legislative provision concerning the land reforms in the country called Land Reforms Ordinance in 1984 has fixed the ceiling at 33.33 acres.

Landlessness has increased by 52 per cent. In 1984, the landless households were 1.2 million but in 1996 it increased to 2.10 million. If we take the effectively land less (who own .05 acres of land) on account the number was 3.7 million in 1984 but in 1994 it increased to 6.4 million.

This figure has revealed that the majority of the productive force as peasants are landless in the region.

Agriculture Revolution

Agricultural revolution refers to the process that aims to liberate the peasants from feudal and semi-feudal exploitation. In Nepal agricultural is the backbone of the economy. However, the agro-productivity is very low in comparison to other developed countries. We have backward agricultural system, which can't help to change the living standard of the people. Therefore by the agricultural revolution, we understand the speedy advancement of our efforts that contribute to turning our state of backwardness in to progressive efforts of production. Structural change, resources to the tillers and increase in productivity are key ingredients of agricultural revolution. Only after agricultural revolution, all forms of feudalistic modes of production end and all forms of exploitation are extinguished. Therefore we want agricultural revolution through the implementation of land reform.

Land reforms

Man-land relationship (control over land), man-man relationship on the land (i.e. between tenants and landlords) and land development as such. It includes abolition of dual land ownership, tenancy reforms, ceiling on landholdings, plotting or consolidation of land, Land use policy, Abolition of Dual Ownership, Solving the Guthi (trust) Problem, Land Recording and Information System

Understanding of Land Reform: -

Normally land reform means breaking up of large land holdings and re-distribution of land to landless and small owners. However, in the present situation, land reform should not and does not mean only the re-distribution of land. When we are talking about land reform and we should keep the followings also close to the agenda. Without these, land reform may remain as a slogan only.

• Eliminate poverty
• Create infrastructure for industrialization
• Motivate the farmers to work for betterment of their life
• Eliminate the exploitation in the agricultural sector
• Establish the principal Jamin, Jal, Jungle, Jadibutti Janatako (land, water, forest and herbs or bio-diversity should be in the hands of peasants).

Modal of Land Reforms

1. The Land Ceiling
   On the one hand productive land is in the hand of few rich or landlords and on the other hand poor peasants, agricultural labourers and bounded labours do not own the land of their own who work 24 hours in the field and grow food grain. Productive land in the hand of the landlords has not been properly utilized and not giving much production. One studies has shown that the productivity of the land decreases when the land goes the bottom-up from the hands of the poor to the rich. For example a small peasant can produce harvest worth 12 thousand in one hector, but in the same productive zone, rich farmers who have over 5 hectors of land produce just 6 thousand. This proves that small farmers can produce much harvest even in adverse land. They can labour hard and produce much.
    
   There is much land with those devoid of the labour and absentee landlords. Therefore, there is need to start ceiling in land holding and the surplus land. Thus acquired land could be distributed to the people with abundance of labour and landless peasants. This would contribute to the increase of production. If production is increased, the problem of food security would somehow be solved. So the main and foremost important thing is to reduce the existing ceiling and increase agriculture productivity.
    
   Various researches have shown that to increase the productivity, the land ceiling should be reduced (table below). If we reduce the ceiling, the surplus land can be re-distributed to the poor and landless people. This will ensure the land to the tiller principal. It will help to create employment opportunities in agro-sector and instill social justice.