The perennial problem of shortage of chemical fertilizers in Nepal is expected to end soon as India and Nepal are inching closer to sign a long-term supply contract, reported The Kathmandu Post. 

India had already sent its initial comments on the planned accord. The Nepal government has prepared a draft agreement, and will soon send it to India for review and comments, said Yogendra Kumar Karki, the secretary of the Agriculture and Livestock Department. 

Nepal’s cabinet will soon receive give in-principal approval for the draft agreement after approval from the Indian side, the report said. The talks on agreement started in December last year. 

During the peak growing season, the country regularly faces a shortage of fertilizer. Over the year, it has emerged as one of the most important political commodities in Nepal as shortage directly affects the income of farmers. Most agreements, signed earlier, were on an ad-hoc basis. 

Through the government to government agreement, Nepal plans to reduce at least 30 percent of shortage for at least three years. Officials in Nepal said the agreement would the seamless supply of fertilizers just like the petroleum supplies from India. 

Several fertilizer exporting countries were also explored for this agreement, but India was chosen at last due to logistical feasibility, a Nepali official was quoted as saying by The Kathmandu Post.