December 18, 2022, Janakpur, Nepal – The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) Nepal hosted the second Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) meeting for the KOICA-GGGI Climate-smart agriculture project. The project, which is being implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Land Management, Agriculture and Cooperatives (MoLMAC), aims to support widespread adoption of climate-smart agriculture to reduce vulnerability and improve food and job security, especially for women, youth and returned migrant workers in the Terai Flood Plain region.
The meeting was chaired by Dr. Namrata Singh, Secretary, MoLMAC and was attended by other members from TAC and GGGI. During the meeting, personnels from Nepal Agriculture Research Council (NARC) and District Administrative Office (DAO) were also invited for their inputs to drive the project in line. Mr. Purusottam Prasad Gupta, Senior Project Coordination Officer, presented an update on the progress of the project, including ongoing activities and plans for the next quarter. Mr. Rakesh Kumar Shah, Senior Agriculture and DRR Associate at GGGI, presented the findings of the Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (RVA) and local government capacity building assessments.
During the meeting, the team highlighted the need to localize the Building Information Platform Against Disaster (BIPAD) portal, an integrated and comprehensive Disaster Information Management System (DIMS) in the selected municipality so that the focal person can share weather information with farmers. There is regular weather bulletin from NARC which should be properly channelized and should have regular access to farmers and project could support on this, shared by Dr. Bisheswor Prasad Yadav, NARC Director. Team also emphasized the need to increase coordination with the District Disaster Management Committee (DDMC) and enhance the capacity of Local Emergency Operation Centers (LEOCs) to operationalize local emergency centers and support communities during any anticipated disasters.
Dr. Namrata Singh, Secretary, MoLMAC highlighted the necessity to link agriculture and disaster management, as pests and disease infestation can also be considered disasters. She noted that while people typically think of disasters as events like floods or earthquakes, they often forget that agricultural disasters can also have significant impacts. Likewise, Chairpersons from both districts (Mr. Raj Nath Mandal and Mr. Suman Kumar Lal Karn), pointed out the benefits of group farming and how to utilize traditional knowledge in the context of changing climate. Further, they also emphasized the supply of quality seed varieties and their proper utilization at farmer’s level. Guiding and increasing knowledge towards seed application along with fulfilling need of fertilizers by utilizing local practices such as the use of cow urine and changing in crop practice are very important in the present context shared by members during the meeting. The team also suggested conducting pilot demonstrations on innovative technologies along with utilizing traditional knowledge starting from one village or ward, as people are often convinced by seeing the success of others.
The meeting was formally closed with the commitment to meet at the end of March for the next TAC meeting.