Manila, Nov 24, 2006 AEST (ABN Newswire) - An US$18 million grant from Asian Development Bank's (ASX: ATB) Asian Development Fund will help commercialize agriculture in Nepal's Eastern Development Region to expand economic opportunities for the rural poor.
The project will bring together key stakeholders - farmers, traders, and processors - to work together toward improving the efficiency of production, marketing, and processing of high-value crops, such as vegetables, fruits, tea, and spices.
Those value crops, with growing market demand and higher levels of return per hectare, can help improve incomes for small landholders who are producing cereals with relatively low returns. Marketing of high-value crops, however, is constrained by weak links to markets, poor market infrastructure, and limited knowledge on the part of farmers.
The project will be carried out in 11 districts - Dhankuta, Ilam, Panchtar, Terhathum, Udayapur, Jhapa, Morang, Saptari, Siraha, Sunsari, and Taplejung - which have favorable climates for agriculture, an existing entrepreneurial base, successful cases of commercial agriculture, and proximity to domestic and neighboring country markets.
"The project will help these districts build on existing strengths by helping the farmers to become more involved in commercial agriculture, and helping processors and traders to improve their links to farmers and small entrepreneurs," says Jiangfeng Zhang, an ADB Project Economist. "In doing so, the project will accelerate the process of agricultural commercialization in the region and, consequently, reduce poverty."
The project will help subsistence and semi-commercial farmers adopt high value crops to improve returns, and to become more knowledgeable and capable in participating in commercial activities. The commercial ones will be trained on social issues, gender concerns, and environmental responsibility. The landless will be assisted through training to become employed in agriculture-related activities.
The project will promote the socially-inclusive participation of all stakeholders, including the poor, disadvantaged, and women in commercial agriculture, and help them receive fair benefits from such participation; and in turn contribute to restoring peace and stability in the region.
A commercial agriculture fund will be established to provide a facility for the community to make investments in local market infrastructure, such as collection centers, small markets, storage centers, and farm-to-market road improvements. Commercial Agriculture Alliance (CAA), a non-profit company, has been established to manage the fund.
The fund will also support non-infrastructure investments that can add value to the agriculture products, such as pest management techniques, promotion of improved cultivation practices, greenhouse equipment, and laboratory equipment for product testing and quality control. Promotional activities like trade fairs will also be supported.
The project's total cost is estimated at $24.1 million, with ADB financing amounting to $18 million. The Government will contribute $800,000, CAA members $4 million, and the balance will come from district development committees and the farmer communities.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives is the executing agency for the project, which is due for completion in December 2012.
Contact
Omana Nair
Email: onair@adb.org
Tel:+632 632 5178; Mobile: +63 918 914-7003
Graham Dwyer
Email: gdwyer@adb.org
Tel:+632 632 5253; Mobile: +63 920 938-6487
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