Export Challenges

http://www.inspirationheals.com/nepal/

Poverty

Approximately 30% of the population receives $14.00 a month, which is about 959 rupees (IFAD, n.d). Poverty tends to be higher in the rural areas of Nepal instead of the urban areas and this could pose as a challenge since farmers in both rural and urban areas would be the target market (Chhetry, n.d). The farmers of Nepal are mostly subsistence farmers and therefore make very little money off of crops that they may sell (Chhetry, n.d). This would reduce the amount of farmers that can afford the product, depending on the price at which the product is sold.

Previous Tests

Arsenic testing has been done many times before in Nepal and this could present another challenge (Yadav, et al., 2014). People may begin to feel defeated by this idea as there is still a great amount of arsenic throughout Nepal as well as nearby countries. However, as time progresses, there is newer and better technology that could provide more results (Snyder, et al., 2016). There has been a breakthrough for water filtration, with the possibility of using a vinegar biosand filter that has been altered to deal with bacteria and other chemicals (Snyder, et al., 2016). This filtration system has the potential to remove both arsenic and nitrate from sections of soil (Snyder, et al., 2016).

Transport

There is the possibility that it may be difficult to transport the product throughout Nepal as there are the three different regions to consider (Donnges, n.d). The roads in Nepal are in poor condition and this could also cause the task of transportation to be rather difficult (Donnges, n.d).

Lack of Education

Unfortunately, the lack of education can be caused by certain barriers such as disabilities, finances, parents’ perspective, or just being unaware of the importance of education (Lamichhane, 2012).

To perform the experiment one would need to be capable of reading and following the instructions. This may be difficult if the instructions are in a different language or if the person is illiterate. Cole Parmer mainly produces the instructions for products in English or French, none of which are the language of Nepal (Cole Parmer, 2016). The language barrier could also pose as another challenge.

Competing Companies

There are competing companies in India and China that sell very similar products and it may be much easier for Nepal to reach out to them for a product. Orbit Technologies is a water test kit producing company in India as well as Palintest which is located in China, the Middle East and Australia (Palintest, 2016). The countries listed are a much shorter distance from Nepal than Canada and that could make the shipping process shorter as well. Were the people of Nepal to know this information, it may sway their decision to invest in a product from Canada.

Government

Currently, the government only spends about 2.6% of government money on agriculture and agriculture makes up 36% of their GDP (IRIN, 2013). Unfortunately, the government does not understand how serious this problem is and their involvement is key to the solution (IRIN, 2013). Ministry of Agriculture, MOAD, provides services to farmers and one technician has the responsibility of attending to the needs of 1,500 farmers but the ratio of technician to farmers is much smaller in developed countries (IRIN, 2013).

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