Kathmandu, December 29 (IANS). Nepal and India have agreed to further strengthen bilateral cooperation in the agriculture sector. Both countries have decided to prepare and implement a biennial (two-year) action plan within the next three months, so that the agreements related to agricultural cooperation can be converted into concrete results. This information was given by Nepal’s Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Development Ministry on Monday.
This agreement was reached in the ninth meeting of Nepal-India Joint Agriculture Working Group held in Kathmandu on Sunday and Monday. A decision was also taken in the meeting to increase cooperation between agricultural universities and research institutes. Under this, separate action plans will be prepared between the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and Nepal Agricultural Research Council.
The two countries also agreed to pursue cooperation in animal husbandry, poultry and fisheries sectors under a separate MoU. Further, it was also agreed to improve logistics processes to ensure uninterrupted supply of chemical fertilizers, enhance cooperation in agricultural infrastructure development and maintain regular communication between the concerned agencies to resolve technical issues related to food quality and quarantine.
The Indian side reiterated its commitment to expand cooperation with Nepal in agricultural research, technology transfer and infrastructure development in line with the ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy.
Reviewing the achievements of bilateral cooperation in the meeting, the Nepalese side informed that so far 92,766 semen doses have been produced from 15 high quality Murrah breed male buffaloes gifted by the Government of India. The initiative was taken under the agreement reached during the visit of then Nepali Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal to New Delhi in 2023, which aims to improve the native buffalo breeds in Nepal.
The Nepalese side expressed gratitude to the Indian Government, describing this cooperation as important in livestock development and breed improvement.
During the meeting, Nepal appreciated India’s recognition of laboratory testing for eight categories of its agricultural products and urged for expansion of this list. In April, for the first time, India recognized testing certificates issued by Nepal’s National Food and Feed Reference Laboratory, paving the way for export to India of select food products tested in Nepal.
Nepal also sought unhindered access to the Indian market for its agricultural products. There was also an in-depth discussion on enhancing cooperation on contemporary topics like digital agriculture, climate-tolerant farming, natural farming systems and food security.
It was also decided in the meeting that the tenth meeting of the Joint Agricultural Working Group will be held in India, the date of which will be decided with mutual consent of both the countries.
This meeting was co-chaired by Hari Bahadur KC, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Development of Nepal. and Pramod Kumar Mehrada, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare of India.
–IANS
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