Tuesday, May 4, 2010

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRY


Many industries running in Nepal are based on agriculture. Such industries are dependent on the raw materials that come from agriculture sector. The examples are sugar industry from sugarcane, jute industry from jute, cotton factory from cotton, leather industry from animal skin, tea factory from tea leaves, etc. To run these industries, raw materials are made available from the agriculture sector.

Agriculture tools like spade, plough, etc are produced in the industries. Increased production in agriculture is made possible by the use of these tools. Other items including chemical fertilizers and insecticides are made available by industries. We can have increased agriculture production through appropriate use of agriculture tools, chemical fertilizers and insecticides. Similarly generator needed for irrigation is produced and supplied by industry. Therefore, there is mutual relationship between agriculture and industry. Agriculture and industry can be promoted through mutual relationship between these two. More than 80% of the people of Nepal are involved in agriculture. Over 50% of the national income and over 40% of national production comprise agriculture. So, it is necessary to develop more and more agro-based industries in Nepal. Agro-based industries utilize the raw materials available from agriculture like tea leaves, sugarcane, cotton, oil seeds, milk, etc. There are many such industries in Nepal. Agriculture and industries are like two sides of a coin. They are inter-dependent.

Agriculture provides agricultural raw materials to the industries and industries produce manufactured or finished products from those raw materials. Thus, we have seen that without agricultural raw materials, agro-based industries cannot run. The development of agro-based industries depends upon the availability of agricultural raw materials. The quality and quantity of agricultural raw materials also depend upon industries. In other words, agriculture also depends upon industry.

The development of agriculture depends upon industry because:
  • Industry produces agriculture tools plough, spade, thrasher, hoe, etc which help to make agricultural work and production more efficient and productive.
  • Chemical fertilizers, insecticides, pesticides for agriculture are produced by industries. They protect the crops from diseases and help to grow in a better way.
  • Industry provides generators needed for irrigation in many of the places of Nepal.

Thus, there is a mutual relationship between agriculture and industry. In the absence of industry, agricultural production goes down and without agricultural production agro-based industry will have no meaning. One fulfils the needs and the other fulfils the demands of a nation. This harmony is the key to rapid economic development of Nepal.





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