POSTED ON SEPTEMBER 11, 2024
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The global food system must be able to adequately nurture the world. However, the current food system is failing to fulfill its basic objective i.e., to provide nutritious and healthy food for all, which is evident through hunger and malnutrition status globally. Malnutrition is one of the key challenges in Nepal as well. The data shows that 25% of children under five are stunted, 19% are underweight and 8% are wasted, and Karnali experiences the highest stunting rate (34%) (NDHS, 2022). Even though the research shows that there are over 500,000 edible plants, fish, animals, and insects; our 75% of food comes from 12% of crops and is dominated by cereal crops, mainly rice, wheat, and maize (FAO, 2022). So, the current food system needs to be transformed into resilient, equitable and sustainable to improve food and nutrition security. In addition to that, regional cooperation in South Asia is necessary to improve food and nutrition security through shared resources and knowledge, as the climate and ecosystem are connected and have similar socio-cultural settings.
Therefore, to foster south-to-south regional cooperation, a multi-country project entitled “The Green Evolution; Pathways for Food System Transformation” is designed and implemented in Nepal, India (lead), and Bangladesh. It is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and technically supported by the Welthungerhilfe (WHH). The project aims to contribute to robust local food systems that safeguard people’s right to safe and healthy food, promote food sovereignty for local communities, and build resilience to climate change. The project will be jointly implemented by LI-BIRD, Himalayan Permaculture Centre (HPC) and Asia Network for Sustainable Agriculture and Bioresources (ANSAB) in three districts i.e., Dailekh, Jumla and Surkhet of Karnali province of Nepal from April 2024 to March 2028.
To kick start the project, the provincial inception of the project was held in Birendranagar, Surkhet on 25th August 2024 to share information about the project with key stakeholders. The half-day event was chaired by Bharat Bhandari, Executive Director of LI-BIRD with the Honorable Province Minister Mr. Binod Kumar Shah as the chief guest. In total, 60 participants participated the event, representing both the public and private sectors, such as the Ministry of Land Management, Agriculture and Cooperative (MoLMAC), the National Agriculture Research Council (NARC), the Directorate of Agriculture Development (DoAD), the Agriculture and Livestock Business Promotion and Training Center (ALBPTC), the Prime Minister Agriculture Modernization Project (PMAMP) the Integrated Agriculture Laboratory, GIZ, CEAPRED, NFGF, FECOFUN, WHH, HPC, ANSAB, and Agri entrepreneurs.
Mr. Laxman Khatri, Program Operations Director from LI-BIRD welcomed all the participants expressing gratitude to the WHH India team for their presence in the programme and emphasized on the project’s alignment with the organic mission of Karnali Provincial Government and its potential benefits for the region. Mr. Anshuman Das, Program Manager, WHH India, and food system expert presented on why the current food system needs transformation, and the reason behind agroecology being the pathway. He emphasized that the world is going through critical issues like COVID-19 pandemic, economic recession, climate change, and biodiversity loss which affect the overall food system resulting in malnutrition. Most of the malnourished and hungry people are from South Asia and on top of that they are mostly smallholder and marginalized farmers. It reiterates the need for regional cooperation as this region shares the same socio-economic conditions and resources are also interconnected. Mr. Das also highlighted the need for regional cooperation in South Asia to address hunger and promote connected ecosystems and food diversity, with a vision of strengthening food systems from households to national and global levels.
Ms. Rita Gurung, Team Leader from LI-BIRD presented the project’s objectives, activities, and working modalities. Ms. Gurung highlighted that the project aims to develop and document climate-resilient agroecological models and evidence at the local level and utilize the evidence to train the extension services through government and academic institutions and disseminate the evidence for improved policy and institutional framework. This will ultimately result in increased global progress towards adopting agroecological principles to foster food system transformation. Further, Mr. Bhuwan Khadka, head of HPC, shared insights about the history of HPC and its working modalities.
The presentation session was followed by an interactive Question and Answer session where valuable insights to the project were exchanged. During the plenary discussion, Mr. Chitra Bahadur Rokaya, Director of Directorate of Agriculture Development (DoAD), raised concerns about the connection between production and market access, specific commodities promoted and recommend to focus on creating a lasting impact in the community through the project’s activities. Mr. Deepak Bhandari, Chief of ALBPTC, recommended the project team should focus on integrating livestock and agroforestry and forest products, such as non-timber forest products (NTFPs) into the project. Mr. Dhan Bahadur Kathayat, the spokesperson for MoLMAC, proposed naming the Farmer Field Schools (FFS) as “Agroecology Farmer Field School” and suggested producing Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) certified goods through the project. Mr. Kathayat also encouraged aligning some project activities with the pollinator strategy jointly developed by MoLMAC and LI-BIRD recently. Mr. Suraj Kumar Singh, a media representative (RSS), expressed excitement about the project’s support for the organic mission and requested the project team to advocate for the self-consumption of farm-produced foods, and the development of healthy food habits. Mr. Bindulal Regmi (representative: Forum for Protection of Consumer Right, Nepal) recommended linking the project with awareness campaigns and disseminate to a wider audience. All valuable suggestions were briefly addressed and noted by the team members.
Mr. Shanta Bahadur KC, chairperson of NFGF, Karnali, emphasized the project’s importance for health and sustainability, aligning with NFGF’s goals of agroecology and nutrition gardens urging local governments to support these initiatives during his key remarks. Ms. Tabia Seiz, Head of Programme (HoP), WHH expressed gratitude for the event, praising the focus on nature-friendly farming practices in Karnali sharing the insights from her field visit, and highlighting the importance of sharing these sustainable practices with other countries. Mr. Bharat Rijal, Mayor of Dullu Municipality, highlighted the need to demonstrate the impact and output of local food production and requested to address wildlife issues and potential solutions.
Mr. Tikaram Thapa, Secretary MoLMAC, expressed gratitude to all and emphasized the adoption of sustainable farming practices through the integration of modern techniques which are economically viable and achievable. Similarly, Hon’ble Minister Mr. Binod Kumar Shah, MoLMAC, Karnali Province praised the project’s vision and its alignment with the province’s agricultural goals. He also expressed readiness for collaboration and emphasized the need for impactful key activities and approaches that can be scaled up and replicated across the province and beyond.
Mr. Bharat Bhandari, in his concluding remarks, expressed gratitude to MoLMAC, WHH and all the participants and emphasized the need for impactful activities and collaboration, and knowledge sharing at local, national, and global levels to advance sustainable farming practices. In addition, he shared about LI-BIRD’s mission towards improving food and nutrition security through agroecology promotion and the project’s contribution in achieving it. He highlighted the importance of collaborative efforts among all governmental and non-governmental stakeholders, and diverse actors of the food system in ensuring the success and sustainability of the program. Mr. Bhandari opined as the project progresses, it will serve as a valuable example of how regional cooperation and innovative practices can drive meaningful change in food and nutrition security.
