a. Building a Resilient Churia Region in Nepal (BRCRN) 

FAO Nepal is providing support to Ministry of Forest and Environment in the implementation of “Building a Resilient Churia Region in Nepal” (BRCRN) Project funded by Green Climate Fund (GCF). The project aims to confront the challenges posed by climate change by enhancing the resilience of ecosystems and vulnerable communities in Churia region. It promotes widespread adoption of climate-resilient land use practices, confront the challenges of deforestation and forest degradation, better maintain the forest ecosystem covering 26 vulnerable river system of Churia region, and build resilience to climate-induced hazards. It focuses on building the capacities of governments, communities and other stakeholders to better understand and respond to climate risks.

b. Technical Assistance to Food and Nutrition Security Enhancement Project (FANSEP)

Food and Nutrition Security Enhancement Project (FANSEP) funded by Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP) is aimed to increase food and nutrition security and livelihoods of vulnerable households in the four earthquake (Dhading, Gorkha, Dolakha, Sindhupalchowk) and four flood affected (Saptari, Siraha, Dhanusha, Mahottari) districts, with special focus on smallholder farmers, women and children. The FAO technical assistance aims to support for strengthening the extension services, dissemination of climate resilient technologies through Farmer’s Field School, development of market linkages for targeted smallholder farmers and support for the rollout of Nutrition Field Schools. The Technical Assistance (TA) activities are designed to strengthen the capacities of the public service providers and targeted beneficiaries of the project and to enhance the effectiveness of the project interventions.

c. Strengthening Capacity to Harness Positive Effects of Migration in Nepal

This project is working with the returnee migrants and their families who lost their income opportunities from the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic. It provides employment opportunities and enhances skill to generate income in farm and non-farm sectors among the local of Rautahat district from Madesh Province. It ensures the food security of migrant returnees by creating employment opportunities in local level, reducing dependency on remittances and scaling up the socio-economic status of the vulnerable group including migrants.

d. Immediate Technical Assistance for Animal Health Systems to Address Emerging and Priority Zoonotic Diseases and Health Threats in Nepal

Frequent occurrences of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreaks in Nepal has challenged the food security, food safety and nutritional status of the population. In addition, there are additional threats of other zoonotic diseases such as rabies, brucellosis, tuberculosis, and issues related to Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) which needs coordinated One Health approach. FAO, through USAID funded project, is supporting the Government of Nepal in the prevention, detection, and response of emerging animal health threats and Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) through multi-sectoral coordination and collaboration. This project aims to mitigate the impacts of novel “high consequence pathogens” at animal-human and environmental interface through early detection, national-level preparedness for effective response and reduction of risk of disease emergence.

e. Joint Programme on Accelerating Progress towards the Economic Empowerment of Rural Women (JP RWEE)

The Joint Programme on Accelerating Progress towards the Economic Empowerment of Rural Women (JP RWEE) is a global initiative with an overarching goal to economic empowerment, and livelihoods improvements of rural women’s by addressing the key challenges faced by rural women from Rautahat and Sarlahi district of Madesh Province. It aims to ensure food and nutrition security, increase income for livelihoods of rural women, drudgery reduction, enhance women’s leadership, gender responsive policy environment and participation in public life and decision-making process breaking the social stigma. The project introduces a women-led group approach resulting in meaningful participation in key decision-making and supporting local governments to recognize rural women as important economic actors. It works towards addressing gender-specific constraints of rural women by accessing resources, opportunities and implementing measures to capacitate women as farmers, entrepreneurs and leaders with social and economic transformation in pursuance of the principle of ‘leaving no one behind’ of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

f. Support to Strengthen Preparedness and Response Capacity to tackle Emerging and Neglected Zoonotic Disease; Glanders

Glanders is a contagious infectious acute or chronic disease that affects mainly animals of horse family but occasionally spills over to humans, carnivores, and small ruminants. This disease was confirmed for the first time in Nepal in May 2021. This project supports the Government of Nepal in strengthening the preparedness against the Glanders. This includes development of preparedness plan, capacity building of laboratory, government officials and equine handlers and screening of horse population to understand the burden of Glanders in Nepal.

g. Support to Operationalize the “One Health Strategy 2019” of the Government of Nepal

Zoonotic diseases, antimicrobial resistance and food safety and pesticide issues that occur at the animal-human-environment interface highlights the need for one health approach. Realizing this, the Government of Nepal endorsed the “One Health Strategy 2019”. This project supports the Government of Nepal to operationalize the One Health Strategy of the Government of Nepal. This include preparation of the action plan for the strategy, development of provincial one health strategies/action plans in three provinces, Gandaki, Sudurpaschim and Province 1 and capacity building of multisectoral stakeholders across the one health spectrum

h. Strengthening Capacity of Public & Private Sectors on Organic Agriculture in Karnali

The project envisions the sustainable food and agriculture through the adoption of organic farming and development of ecosystem-based practices by testing and validating at the farm level. It assists in upscaling organic crop production, processing and exploring market linkage in areas of similar agro-climatic conditions. The project is operated in close collaboration with the Ministry of Land Management, Agriculture and Cooperatives (MoLMAC) in Surkhet, Jumla, Mugu and Dailekh districts of Karnali Province. The project explores the best management practices to strengthen agro-ecosystem services, promote sustainable cultivation, harvesting, grading and marketing of the certified High-Value Agriculture Products (HVAP) through technical and institutional interventions.

i. Support to good dairy husbandry practices for dairy sector development

Good Husbandry Practices (GHP) defines principles and minimum standards of animal husbandry (feeding, breeding, health care, handling, management and housing of animals). The project informs farmer and veterinarians about healthy consumption of dairy products, disease prevention, appropriate veterinary care, shelter management, nutrition stimulating, safe environment and healthy consumption. The project drafted the standards of dairy farm value chain and helped in piloting among dairy farmers for sustainable animal husbandry.

j. Support to Formulate Sustainable Mountain Development Agenda

The United Nations General Assembly declared the year 2022 as the International Year of Sustainable Mountain Development (IYSMD). The FAO collaborates with the Government of Nepal and other partners in mainstreaming mountain development agenda into national policies, strategies and highlighting the mitigation and adaptation measures of climate change in international forum. It revitalizes key issues and major interventions on the conservation of mountain ecosystems, better livelihoods, with special focus on the most vulnerable groups by regulating climate actions, hydrological cycles and support to better environment. The IYSMD 2022 escalates the momentum on sustainability and resilience of mountain ecosystems and communities at the heart of international processes, policies and investments within the framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Food insecurity remains a serious challenge for Nepal. Agricultural growth provides the principle pathway to tackle this problem. For agriculture to make this contribution, land and labour productivity have to grow to start with. This is the only way to break the current vicious circle which prevents farmers from transacting in the food markets due to low productivity and thus in purchasing modern farm inputs to raise the productivity. Public investment has to lead this process, notably in irrigation and infrastructure, technology generation, prevention of animal and crop diseases and pests and natural resource conservation. It is equally important to take steps to improve access to nutrition and safe food for vulnerable communities.

Complementary to the existing Government efforts as well as those of the DPs, FAO will contribute to enhancing national and local capacities for improving productivity and ensuring food security through the achievement of the following expected outcomes and outputs.

Outcome 1.1 (productivity): Crop, livestock and fishery production and productivity increased through strengthened capacity of the delivery institutions and producers.

Outcome 1.2 (access improvement): Strengthened institutional and governance capacity that ensures inclusive access to nutritious and safe food of vulnerable communities.

Outcome 1.3 (disaster risk management): Strengthened capacities for emergency preparedness, response and recovery strengthened to minimize vulnerabilities with regard to access to safe food, including emphasis on transboundary animal/plant diseases.

Effective implementation of the Government policy and programmes depends considerably on the completeness of the policy and related institutional environment. One long-standing weakness in this area is incomplete design of supportive policies and acts, and weak monitoring of the compliance to existing policies. Institutional capacity for strategic planning and implementation is also limited. Quality and timely availability of agricultural and livestock statistics has also constrained the formulation and implementation of programmes to boost agricultural production and productivity.

The GoN is in the process of formulating a National Food and Nutrition Security Plan and the long-term Agriculture Development Strategy, as well as to conduct a new agricultural census. All these processes would benefit considerably from FAO technical assistance. Several UN agencies and development partners are also assisting in these activities and therefore this priority area involves possibilities for high level of partnership and collaboration.

Outcome 2.1 (policies and programmes): Effectiveness of food and agriculture strategies, policies and programmes enhanced through strengthened analytical, technical and institutional capacity for their formulation, implementation and monitoring.

Outcome 2.2. (statistics): Strengthened government institutional capacity to collect and disseminate statistics on agricultural production and trade that includes gender and rural employment aspects.

Almost all of Nepal’s development strategy and policy documents have emphasized the urgency of market to orient and commercialize the country's largely subsistence-economy, as one of the pathways to breaking the vicious cycle. The other pathway is to enhance productivity. A value chain framework is deemed essential for identifying appropriate interventions from farm to the market. Public investments in key infrastructure and service areas, notably irrigation, rural roads, post-harvest technology and storage and market and price information, should play an important role, but the bulk of the investment has been envisaged to flow from the private sector. The latter will not happen automatically but will have to be encouraged through appropriate pricing and other policies. Many countries around the world are increasingly promoting this approach, i.e. public-private partnerships in a value chain context. FAO has the comparative advantage of tapping this knowledge base and best practice.

Outcome 3.1: (value addition): Strengthened and reoriented technical and institutional capacities at national and decentralized levels to provide support to promote market-oriented production and value addition.

Outcome 3.2: (competitiveness): Policies, regulations and legal issues addressed to promote competitive agro-enterprise development for smallholder farmers and small and medium scale enterprises.

Outcome 3.3: (WTO/SPS compliane): Producers and exporters of selected farm products are enabled to access increased market opportunities by complying with SPS related requirements in the value chain of those products.

Nepal’s natural resources are being over-exploited beyond their retaining and regenerative capacity for a number of reasons which include unsustainable land use practices, unsustainable exploitation of bio-diversities, deteriorating watershed services, increasing conversion of forest land to other uses and more recently adverse effects of climate change. FAO jointly with the Government and other development partners will contribute to enhancing the national capacity to promote improved sustainable management and development of natural resources, including land management, forestry and watershed management, and climate charge mitigation and adaptation.

Outcome 4.1 (land management): Land record and management practices improved for sustainable production in a conflict-free environment.

Outcome 4.2 (forestry and watershed management): Management and use of forestry resources and watershed eco-system services improved for income generation and food security through national and local level capacity enhancement in strategic planning.

Outcome 4.3 (climate change): Institutional and technical capacities for adaptation to climate change in agriculture strengthened and adaptive capacity of vulnerable communities enhanced.