The Country Investment Plan is a multi-sectoral national plan which aims at reducing poverty and household food insecurity on a sustainable basis and strengthening the national economy. The Plan outlines ten comprehensive major programmes which include: (i) Enhancing agriculture production and productivity, (ii) Supply of quality agricultural inputs and services, (iii) Developing and strengthening agriculture and marketing infrastructure, (iv) Increasing agriculture competitiveness and commercialization, (v) Agriculture research and development, (vi) Promotion and conservation of Agriculture bio-diversity, (vii) Food safety and consumer protection, (viii) Inclusive agricultural development, (ix) Human resource development in the agriculture and food sector, and (x) Strengthening policy research, planning and monitoring and evaluation. A specific objective of the Plan is to ensure food security and to improve the nutritional status of both rural and urban people. To this end, agriculture production and productivity will be increased. Sustainable agriculture productivity and production will be enhanced through an increase in investment in crop and livestock including aquaculture and fisheries. The alleviation of rural poverty is included among the objectives of the Plan. A specific programme in selected rural areas of Nepal is envisaged, including the following measures: empowerment of target group through social mobilization; rural infrastructure development and income generation programmes for the upliftment of target group's income; strengthening of local service and local bodies. Nepal’s food safety and consumer protection system in both the public and private sectors in terms of awareness and the upgrading of the technical capacity to implement and supervise the food and quality control inspection and other systems that are required will be improved. The production and productivity of Nepalese crop and livestock farming systems will be increased through increasing the availability of quality and affordable agricultural inputs on a timely basis through regulatory reform, upgrading of resources centres, greater private sector participation and improved coordination and management of the agricultural input supply sector. Investment in production, processing and marketing infrastructure along various agriculture value chains at the local and regional levels will be supported. Agricultural credit will be available for production, processing, processing and marketing as a part of the future programmes envisaged to increase agriculture production and productivity. The transformation of subsistence agriculture to a more commercially oriented agriculture will be supported and this transformation will bring subsistence farm households into the market economy, increase their incomes and livelihood opportunities, and provide surplus products for the domestic and export markets. Policy research, planning and monitoring and evaluation of all Government, non-governmental organizations and private sector programmes on agriculture and agriculture research and development will be strengthened. Specific regard is given to rural youth and women under Programme 8 (Inclusive Agricultural Development): the main objective of this programme is to achieve greater inclusion of the various disenfranchised groups working within the agriculture sector in terms of their participation in public and private sector programmes for increasing agricultural production and productivity and also to enable them to take advantage of available opportunities in the market economy. To address climate risk management and disaster prevention and preparedness from an agricultural perspective, the institutional and technical capacity of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives at the national and district levels will be increased. The implementation of the Plan will reside with the Ministry of Agriculture, and its four Departments (i) the Department of Agriculture (which includes extension activities), (ii) the Department of Livestock Services, (iii) Department of Food Technology and Quality Control, and (iv) the Department of Cooperatives and the Nepal Agricultural Research Council and its affiliated research departments.
Nepal Agriculture and Food Security Country Investment Plan.