The concept of ‘Strengthening the Agriculture Value Chain in Salyan and Sindhupalchok Districts of Nepal’ (SAVC) project was developed based on the accomplishments of two previous projects, namely i) “Improving the Livelihoods of Marginalized Groups in Salyan District (ILMG)” implemented by LI-BIRD and Welthungerhilfe (WHH) Nepal, and ii)   “Enhancing Economic and Social Resilience (ESRS)”

of earthquake-affected families in Sindhupalchok Districts of Nepal implemented by LI-BIRD. The main goal of these projects was to transform subsistence-oriented farming into market-oriented agriculture through the establishment of value chains. Both projects were successfully concluded, but in order to realise the impact of value chains at the household level, there was a need for the establishment of fully functional value chains for agricultural commodities in both districts. These projects created a good foundation for the production and marketing of agricultural commodities in both districts. However, these projects were phased out immediately after the initiation of the collective marketing of agricultural produce through cooperatives and Market Promotion Committees. Therefore ‘Strengthening the Agriculture Value Chain in Salyan and Sindhupalchok districts of Nepal (SAVC)’ project was developed to further strengthen the collective marketing of agricultural produce through cooperatives in both districts. 

The SAVC project aimed to improve the income and livelihoods of smallholder farmers through strengthening agricultural value chains in Salyan and Sindhupalchok Districts of Nepal. The project was able to achieve the following results: 

• Established one-stop shops and operationalised cooperatives that manage them for input supply and marketing of local agricultural produce.  
• Established and increased linkages of cooperatives for regular input supply, technical services, and the selling of local agricultural produce.  
• Improved institutional governance and management capacity of cooperatives.  

The project worked on strengthening the capacity of six existing cooperatives and making them capable of supporting smallholder farmers in the production and marketing aspects of the selected agricultural commodities, for example, fresh vegetables and potatoes in Sindhupalchok and fresh vegetables, goat, turmeric, and seed in Salyan. The cooperatives were structured and operated as one-stop shops to ensure sustainability and self-reliance in the longer term. The one-stop shops provided easy access to quality inputs for producer farmers, bought the produce from farmers, and marketed it through establishing a well-functioning value chain.  

The project built and strengthened the capacity of cooperatives through the development of physical infrastructure for value chains, linking the cooperatives with public and private service providers and buyers, developing and implementing business plans, and improving the cooperatives’ governance and management capacity. The project trained producer farmers and provided inputs and technical support to increase the income of households and create sustainable self-employment opportunities.