Nepali and Indian officials are making necessary preparations for signing of various agreements related to the agricultural sector during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit to Nepal. Modi is scheduled to embark on a two-day Nepal visit on May 11.

The agreements would be signed as per the memorandum of understandings reached between the two countries during Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s visit to India in April, according to a source at the Foreign Ministry in Kathmandu.

During PM Oli’s visit, the two sides had come up with separate statements related to agriculture research and development, with the primary focus on easy export of agricultural products, technological development and human resource development.

Nepali farmers are affected due to short supply of chemical fertilizers each year, resulting in a sharp decline in the country’s agricultural output. Nepal’s annual fertilizer demand is estimated at 300,000 tonnes. Nepal purchases only around half the total demand through a global tender, but supply through such tender is often delayed, leaving the farmers in difficult situation.

As an immediate and alternative measure, the government of Nepal has requested India to provide fertilisers under a government-to-government deal to relieve the farmers. Nepal is preparing to sign an agreement with India for an annual supply of 150,000 tonne fertilizers—100,000 tonnes of urea and 50,000 DAP, the source said. The Nepali side is set to table the proposal at the prime ministerial level. Nepal also plans to urge India to provide necessary help to set up a fertilizer plant for a long-term solution of the problem. Similarly, Nepal is expected to urge India to ease export of various agricultural products like ginger, black cardamom, jute etc from Nepal. Nepali exporters complain that Indian authorities obstruct the export of agricultural products time and again, citing quotas and quality of the goods.