Dear sir/madam thank you very much (FSN) Coordinator body, I am engaging long time in agriculture's media sector. Along with pepino farming system in Nepal, I want to contribute my country from the Pepino Melon fruit propogation in the agriculture sectors.
I recognize the about the agriculture value how is important for men. I wish in terms of play role in agriculture sector from my side.
thanks for FSN Coordination team' and All of world FSN Members.
With best regards,
Dhanbahadur Magar
www.krishijournal.com.np; www.indigenoustelevision.com; www.krishi
CONTRIBUTION
Backgound :
Nepal is a predominantly an agricultural country since prehistoric period. In 21 century Nepal adopting 65 % population engaged in agriculture sector. In this condition Nepalese agriculture gradually starting to decreased since 2 decade. Linking out the agriculture roadmap. Nepal agro system reaching near failure. Nepal government has trying to reforms the agricultural sector. But that have not reforms it. All of the concern sector are Worrying about Nepali's agriculture, How reforms to agricultural whole of the systems Nepal have trying to make restructure.
Past, present, playing the important role to save the human life from the agriculture. Agriculture sectors Played significant role in Nepal from malla period in while initiate the human civilization It was remained till to 2090 AD long time through the agriculture way. Food and agriculture are important for the peoples everyone needs to eats. Without food, we can't survive, let alone do anything else. There are a lot of peoples in the world feeding the food from the earth to the around the eight billion peoples. We are depend on over Earth of our planet. There are concerns about whether our agriculture can persist into the future. Food and agriculture are crucial aspects of sustainable development around the world.
we are going to learn some major facets of food and agriculture as they related to sustainable development and other important individual and societal issues. We'll see how food is produced and how it affects both our health and the natural environment. We'll consider a variety of ethical and policy issues raised by food and agriculture. In the future being a considerable issues and to make the sustainable agriculture how can ensure to believable to the youths along with healthy food, better production, better nutritious.
Thousands of past year Nepalese people remain in ruled of feudal system. Poor people never rise their level they was poor in the various names. Its was working on feudal land policy. Government have passed verious related Policy, But Still is hindering to implementation secors. Now we are feeling remaining the same policy, Natural resources is still unable to solved issues. Land issues are our major issues, It is subject of debate issues are coming debates since long years ago. Nepal yet not implementation its raising the why government not solved, questions. being a current issue for peoples' who want to engage in farming sectors, who have no land they are still land less. Who have the knowledge about necessary do an agriculture and production.
Guidelince on Strenghtening National Science-Policy Interface for Agrifood Systems-Draft Summerise Report :
8 May 2024 In this contest, Nepal rising the little hope with it may bring agricultural revolution for the country. Its makes agriculture revolution Federation of Nepal's Madhesh Province irrigation hoping immediate reduced the imports of food from other country, Increased Growth of Internal production may help reduce the trade loss.
The SunkoshiMarin multi diversion irrigation project lately the tunnel have success to break through, and it is going to implement by investment from the Assistance of Fund management of Nepal Government, World Bank, Asian Development Bank other financial institutions. And coordination with Ministry of Irrigation and Energy resources, under Irrigation Department.
And break through program inaugurated from Honorable Prime minister Puspkamal Dahal (Prachand) Nepal hoping that growth of foods Rice, Maize, Wheat cash crop like Vegetables and fruits.
Its irrigate Madhesh Province region it already knowing the grain godown. It is our proud for economic development prosperity through the agricultural growth.
Likes the coded of bellows the subjected topics if Nepal government implement strick, no longer to avoid shortested the food crisis for Nepal.
Its we implement Madhesh province at 5 districts Saptari, Sirah, Dhanusha, other Udaypur Inner Madhesh area around the 1 lakh 50 thousand hecters.
In order to meet these problems, food systems must change in a way that encourages people to eat healthier diets from sustainable food systems, guaranteeing more equitable access to food and nutrition security. Numerous factors impede the advancement of more equal, fair, and sustainable food systems. These include the following: unequal treatment of women, undervaluation of sustainability concerns, a lack of participation from various value systems and Indigenous peoples' traditional knowledge, knowledge gaps about the relationships between various food system operations, and fragmented policies. For example, little is known about how trade regulation affects the environment, food habits, smallholder and Indigenous peoples' production methods, and gender equity issues. Policy makers are uncertain about how to incorporate food policies that support the transformation of food systems because of these gaps as well as the differing interests and values among constituency groups. Consequently, a significant investment in more effective science–policy interfaces (SPIs) and better, more pertinent knowledge systems is required. In order to support multi-sectoral and cross-scale policies that integrate food and nutrition security, public health, environmental sustainability, and societal wellbeing and equity, efficient SPIs must at least deliver on the following three priorities: the integration of research and data across food systems; the provision of a robust, transparent, and independent synthesis and assessment of knowledge, including scientific evidence and insights from the relevant stakeholders; and the provision of a pertinent, policy-related research agenda. By tackling these priorities collectively, we can establish an impartial, transparent, reputable, and authoritative consensus on scientific evidence and other forms of knowledge, which will help to resolve disagreements and uncertainties and close knowledge gaps.
Since then, FAO provides policy guidance and technical support to assist policymakers in establishing and implementing national and regional strategies, action plans, and programmes to develop a sustainable and circular bioeconomy in line with the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement and other Multilateral Environmental Agreements.
When you think about advancing an SPI for agrifood systems in your country, what is the greatest challenge that the FAO guidance, such as presented here, can help address? What suggestions do you have to make the guidance more practical and useable at the country level
Capacity Building: Provide capacity-building support to enhance the skills and knowledge of stakeholders involved in science-policy interfaces. This could include training programs, workshops, and mentorship opportunities to strengthen their understanding of scientific evidence, policy processes, and communication strategies.
a)Capacity Building: Invest in training programs and workshops to enhance the capacity of policymakers in understanding scientific evidence and methodologies. Likewise, scientists should be trained in communication skills to effectively convey research findings to policymakers in a clear and accessible manner.
International Collaboration: Facilitate collaboration and knowledge exchange with international organizations, research institutions, and networks working on similar issues. Lessons learned from other countries can inform domestic policy processes and enhance global cooperation on agrifood system challenges.
a)Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Encourage interdisciplinary collaboration and co-production of knowledge between scientists from different disciplines (e.g., agriculture, ecology, economics, sociology) and policymakers. Foster mutual learning and exchange of expertise to address complex agrifood system challenges from multiple perspectives.
b)Incentivize Collaboration: Provide incentives for scientists to engage with policymakers, such as recognition in academic evaluations, funding opportunities for policy-relevant research, and career advancement pathways that value science-policy engagement.
Engagement and Participation: Facilitate meaningful engagement and participation of diverse stakeholders, including farmers, industry representatives, civil society organizations, and local communities, in the science-policy dialogue. Ensure that their perspectives, experiences, and needs are adequately represented and considered in decision-making processes.
Evaluation and Monitoring: Develop mechanisms to evaluate the effectiveness of science-policy interfaces and monitor the impact of policies on agrifood systems. This feedback loop helps identify strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement in the interface.
By implementing these suggestions, countries can strengthen their science-policy interfaces and enhance the effectiveness of policymaking in addressing the complex challenges facing agrifood systems.
a)Monitoring and Evaluation: Establish mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness and impact of science-policy interfaces over time. Develop indicators and benchmarks to assess the uptake of scientific evidence in policymaking, the quality of policy outcomes, and the extent of stakeholder engagement.
b)Monitoring and Evaluation: The guidance should state the monitoring and performance evaluation process to be followed before the investigation begins. It should emphasize on sustainability and equity on agrifood systems. These protocols can be aligned with existing frameworks like the CAADP’s Biennial Review procedure.
Multi-Stakeholder Engagement: Foster collaboration among scientists, policymakers, farmers, industry representatives, civil society organizations, and other relevant stakeholders. This inclusive approach ensures diverse perspectives are considered and increases the relevance and acceptance of policies.
a) Multi-Stakeholder Engagement: Are the sections/elements identified in the draft guidance the key ones to strengthen SPIs at the national level? If not, which other elements should be considered? Are there any other issues that have not been sufficiently covered in the draft guidance? Are any sections/topics under- or over-represented in relation to their importance?
b)Multi-Stakeholder Engagement: Agriculture in every country, based on multiple crops and farming techniques, contains many sectors which can be dealt with independently but also holistically. Policy is the opportunity to install effective Material flow economic modelling which has to be initiated and managed at National level at least.
E)Establishment of Science-Policy Platforms: Create dedicated platforms or forums where scientists and policymakers can interact regularly to exchange knowledge, discuss emerging issues, and co-design research agendas and policy interventions.
F)Policy Coherence and Integration: Promote policy coherence and integration across relevant sectors (e.g., agriculture, environment, health, trade) to address interconnected challenges such as food security, climate change, and biodiversity conservation. Encourage the alignment of agrifood policies with national development priorities and international commitments.
G)Policy Briefs and Summaries: Scientists should produce concise policy briefs and summaries of their research findings tailored to the needs of policymakers. These documents should highlight key findings, implications, and recommendations in a format that is easily understandable and actionable.
g)Policy-Relevant Research: Encourage the conduct of research that addresses the specific needs and challenges of agrifood systems. This research should provide actionable insights and practical solutions to inform policy development and implementation.
H)Data Sharing and Transparency: Establish mechanisms for transparent sharing of data and research findings between scientists and policymakers. Open access to data and research publications facilitates evidence-based policymaking and fosters trust among stakeholders.
G)Long-Term Commitment: Recognize that building effective science-policy interfaces is a long-term process that requires sustained commitment and investment from governments, research institutions, and development partners. Foster political will and institutional support to prioritize evidence-informed policymaking and strengthen the role of science in decision-making processes.
G)Long-Term Engagement: Foster long-term relationships and ongoing dialogue between scientists and policymakers. This continuity ensures that scientific evidence is consistently integrated into policymaking processes and that policies are adaptive to changing circumstances.
I)Infrastructure Development: FAO can support the development of agricultural infrastructure such as irrigation systems, storage facilities, and transportation networks. Improving infrastructure can help reduce post-harvest losses, increase market access for farmers, and enhance overall food security.
J)Technology Adoption: FAO can assist Afghanistan in adopting innovative technologies such as precision agriculture, drip irrigation systems, and mobile applications for weather forecasting and market information. These technologies can help increase agricultural productivity and improve resource efficiency.
Agriculture higher education: FAO can and should help in building agriculture educational institutions for long term and sustainable results not only in food security but in forest, environment, wildlife, livestock and fishery sector as well.
C)Transparent and Accessible Information: Ensure transparency and accessibility of scientific information, data, and evidence to policymakers and stakeholders. Develop user-friendly platforms, databases, and knowledge-sharing mechanisms to disseminate relevant research findings, reports, and policy briefs in a timely and comprehensible manner.
FAO Guidance Utilization: The use of guidance implies creating inclusive platforms, where all agricultural sectors, regardless of their size participate, thereby enhancing policy relevance and acceptance. Taking this approach, the Voluntary Guidelines on Responsible Governance of Tenure (VGGT) is supported because inclusive and participatory is shown as a vital decision making process (FAO, 2022).
a)FAO Guidance Utilization: The guidance is encouraged whereby traditional knowledge and scientific research are mixed to aid formation of policies; hence, the policies presented are considered to be thoroughly scientifically and socially accurate. This correspond with the FAO acknowledgement of the importance of traditional knowledge systems in the creation of sustainable agriculture and food security (FAO, 2009).
b)FAO Guidance Utilization: The guidance helps in developing the policies that can endure the impacts caused by climate change through the synthesis of relevant climate data and estimates into the management and planning of the agrifood industry. This align with the FAO’s Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) strategy which provides assistance in the adaptibility and resilience to climate change (FAO, 2013).
Challenge: Indigenous agricultural knowledge in the national policy; however, such resources are rarely considered in planning the formal agricultural frameworks (Abioye et al., 2014).
a)Challenge: Agriculture is affected by climate change more than any other sector and increasingly witnessing extreme weather such as droughts and floods.
b)Challenge: The existing agrofood systems in Nigeria are made up of different segments of the stakeholders including smallholder farmers, native communities, and urban food producers which may not have their voices always heard in policy talks.
Local Context Adaptation: Specify in the guidance an approach that is specific for one agriculture-related portrayals and facilities, such as improving the access of farmers to markets and improving upon the agriculture-processing technologies.
Governance Structures: The guidelines should include models that weathered similar global contexts effectively, and specially those that have robustly weathered political and economic instability. Examples of these strategies best practice are the National Agricultural Advisory.
Stakeholder Engagement: The draft should highlight the continuity of stakeholder engagement by stating the various ways for this engagement for the SPI to always remain adaptable and responsive to the emerging challenges and opportunities. To support this, experiences from platforms like the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform can be used.
Additional Information Needs:
Success Metrics: The guidelines need to define unambiguous metrics to assess the quality of SPIs and their effectiveness in empowering agrifood systems in terms of crop productivity, yields, incomes of farmers, and sustainability indicators. The introduced metrics could align with frameworks such the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (United Nations, 2015).
Case Studies: Presenting more case studies that center on countries in Asian pacific regions, with particular emphasis on those which highlight the challenges and successes of SPIs as well as the local factors that contribute toward this success, would be a great source of information and also encourage the adoption of the best practices in the Nigerian environment. Significant examples include the Science Agenda for Agriculture and the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture.
Through customizing FAO projection to the direct impacts and corresponding suggestions, increaseness the effectiveness of its science-policy interfaces and stimulate a better development of sustainable and inclusive growth of its agrifood system.
Strengthening national science-policy interfaces for agrifood systems is crucial for informed decision-making and effective implementation of policies. Here are some suggestions to enhance these interfaces:
Focus on producing less policy documents, act more. FAO and several other UN agencies generated a lot of documents. Most of them under dust and shelves here and there in different countries. I think it is time to work, we have enough evidence of issues in various countries.
References :
Abioye, A. A., Zaid, Y. A., & Egberongbe, H. S. (2014). Documenting and disseminating agricultural indigenous knowledge for sustainable food security: The efforts of agricultural research libraries in Nigeria. Libri, 64(1), 75-84. https://www.ifla.org/past-wlic/2011/78-abioye-en.pdf
Chiaka, J. C., Zhen, L., Yunfeng, H., Xiao, Y., Muhirwa, F., & Lang, T. (2022). Smallholder farmer's contribution to food production in Nigeria. Frontiers in Nutrition, 9, 916678. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2022.916678
FARA (Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa). (n.d.). Science Agenda for Agriculture in Africa. Retrieved from https://faraafrica.org/programs/s3a/.
Dhanbahadur magar
Mr. Dhanbahadur Magar