BOOK LAUNCH November 11, 2020 | 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM (IST) / 6:00 AM - 7:3o AM EST
Agriculture is a vital sector of Nepal’s economy for food security, employment generation, and poverty reduction, but the sector’s performance over the past two and a half decades has been weak. Domestic food production has failed to keep pace with rising food demand, and the country has become a net importer of food, both staples and high-value commodities. The agriculture sector faces both structural and new challenges. Farmers, particularly smallholders, have poor access to technology, inputs, and credit. Improving farm incomes and livelihoods will require increasing smallholders’ participation in the production of high-value commodities, such as vegetables, fruits, dairy products, meat, and eggs. It will also require measures to address the emerging challenge of climate change, given the high vulnerability of smallholders to floods, droughts, and other extreme weather events.
IFPRI South Asia has extensively worked in Nepal on a wide range of policy issues in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Government of Nepal, with support from USAID. The key outputs from this engagement are presented in a new book "Agricultural transformation in Nepal: Trends, prospects, and policy options". The book addresses some of the key strategic questions related to agriculture in Nepal and suggests policy measures to improve the delivery of critical inputs and services to smallholders. It discusses how the new federal system and governance structure will affect the delivery of agricultural technology and services.
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IFPRI South Asia is pleased to invite participants to the virtual launch of the book on November 11, 2020.
Chief Guest Prof. Dr. Puspa Raj Kandel, Vice Chair of National Planning Commission, Government of Nepal
Chairs Dr. Johan Swinnen, Director General, IFPRI Dr. Yogendra K Karkee, Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Government of Nepal
Moderator Dr. Muzna Alvi, Associate Research Fellow, IFPRI
Welcome Dr. Shahidur Rashid, Director, IFPRI SAR Dr. Swarnim Wagle, Chairman, IIDS
Discussants Dr. Usha Jha, Member, National Planning Commission, Government of Nepal Dr. Kusum Shakya, Dean, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Dr. Loraine Ronchi, Practice Manager, South Asia Agriculture, The World Bank Dr. Poshraj Pandey, Chairman SAWTEE Dr. Chip Bury, Resilience and Food Security Advisor, USAID
Citation:
Thapa, Ganesh, ed.; Kumar, Anjani, ed.; and Joshi, Pramod Kumar, ed. 2019. Agricultural transformation in Nepal: Trends, prospects, and policy options. Singapore: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9648-0
This work was undertaken as part of the CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets under it's research Flagship 2: Economywide Factors Affecting Agricultural Growth and Rural Transformation.
