Nepal Agricultural  Cooperative Central Federation Limited (NACCFL) hosted a two-day Transition Planning Workshop on December 16-17, 2024 (Poush 1-2, 2081 BS), in collaboration with the Asian Farmers Association (AFA) under the framework of Asia-Pacific Farmers' Program (APFP-FO4A). The event brought together more than 40 participants, including representatives from 13 small- farmer cooperatives, 2 agricultural cooperatives with shared objectives, and the Central Tea Cooperative Federation, benefitting a total of 16 cooperatives and a federation across the agricultural sector who were recognized for their dedication to driving innovation and growth in Nepal's agricultural cooperatives.

Key Focus Areas

The workshop facilitated a comprehensive assessment of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges faced by cooperatives operating agro-enterprises and ascertain the potential areas and efforts to address the identified commodity wise problems and challenges.  

Expert Insights

Prominent industry figures shared valuable knowledge:

• DB Basnet, Chairperson of Agriculture Enterprise Center under Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry  (FNCCI) highlighting the role of FNCCI in marketing of the products and further plan of AEC/FNCCI which can backstopped the coop led agro enterprises.

• Mr. Amirul Islam, Operations Manager for South and Central Asia from AFA introduce the AFA, APFP-FO4A Projects and highlights the overall objective of this workshop.

• Leo Mendoza, AFA’s Business Development Officer, highlighted global examples of value chain development and commercialization models.

• Institutional evaluations using IFAD’s framework (Farmers Enterprises Assessment Tools) were presented to guide cooperative strategies.

• Panel discussions and interactive sessions addressed participants' queries regarding the acts and policies of government, market linkage, business operations hurdles and challenges, quality assurance, role of agriculture extension services, agri insurance, linking agriculture with technologies, access to finance (opportunities and challenges) as many more and also actionable recommendations were delivered by the panel of experts as bolw: 

• Mr. Rajendra Koirala, Deputy Director, Department of Agriculture under Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development.

• Mr. Deependra Kumar Joshi, Acting CEO of Agriculture Enterprise Center

• Mr. Khem Bahadur Pathak, Chairperson of the Sana Kisan Bikas Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd. (SKBBL) and 

• Mr. Bishow Basnet, Young Entrepreneur 

Business Advancement Discussions

On the second day, participant groups collaborated to identify strengths, weaknesses, problems  and explore pathways to enhance commodities such as tea, seeds, rice, milk, poultry feed, pickle and mustard oil.

Impact on Agricultural Development

This initiative provided a strategic platform for agricultural cooperatives, fostering enterprise development and promoting collaboration among stakeholders. By addressing key challenges and exploring business opportunities, the workshop aimed to strengthen Nepal’s agricultural sector thereby also impacted in enhancing the livelihood of the farmers of rural Nepal.