Adapting the Agriculture Development Strategy to the Federal System in Nepal: ADS Orientation and Planning Workshop

The Agriculture Development Strategy (ADS 2015-2035) is the major initiative of the government of Nepal to transform the agriculture sector into a competitive, sustainable and inclusive sector that brings economic growth, improved livelihoods, job creation and provides food and nutrition security. The ADS presents the overall guiding strategies for agriculture development in Nepal including a rationale based on the assessment of current and past performance of agriculture sector. With this prospective vision in the background, The European Union has provided budgetary and technical cooperation support to Contribute to Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD) in Nepal. The Technical Cooperation Facility (TCF) to the Agriculture Development Strategy (ADS) is being implemented by DT Global in cooperation with CEAPRED and Agro Enterprise Centre (AEC). The CARD is expected to support Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (MoALD) in implementing the ADS through policy dialogue, budget support and capacity building measures.

It should be noted that Nepal had unitary governance system when ADS was formulated. The country has adopted federal system of governance after the promulgation of new Constitution of Nepal creating Seven Provinces and 753 municipalities. Considering the constitutional provisions as well as the mandate of National ADS Implementation Committee (NADSIC) it is crucial to adjust the ADS programs and institutional structure as per the federal structure of Nepal. In this context, the TCF to the ADS organized a three-day workshop from 13-15 November 2019 at Dhulikhel, Kavre with the aim to critically reflect the ADS Targets and Indicators, ADS Implementation Action Plan, and discuss the ways on orientating and adapting ADS into the Federal Governance Structure of Nepal.

A total of 87 participants attended the workshop including 13 female. Among the total participants, 47 were from different provinces representing Ministry of Land Management, Agriculture and Cooperative (MoLMAC) and related agencies. Other participants were from the MoALD, other federal level agencies, development partners and EU ADS TCF team including partners. The workshop sessions included presentations, group exercises and interactive sessions.

The workshop proceeded with an overview of ADS, the coordination mechanisms and the implementation progress presented by Mr. Sujan Dhungel, chief of ADS Coordination Section (ADSCS) at MOALD. There has been considerable progress in formulating necessary policies and acts as provisioned in the ADS, for example, Food and Nutrition Security Plan of Action. Likewise, progress has been made in setting up institutional structures such as National Farmers’ Commission, ADS JSR Mechanism, TCF to ADS and others. Mr. Sujan highlighted slow progress in many indicators due to the confusion created by changes in governance structure, lack of coordination among tiers and unclear linkages and coordination among stakeholders.

Dr David Kahan highlighted that one of the key issues directly related to ADS implementation is that the new constitution of Nepal does not explicitly specify the formal linkages between the three tiers of government. Effective implementation of ADS at the local level will require effective coordination and linkages among the agricultural development programmes and activities of all three tiers. The key challenge is how to make linkages work, and what measures or mechanisms will help improve the linkages within and across the different tiers of governments. Further, constraining the progress is the lack of awareness and knowledge of ADS at both provincial and municipality level where actual implementation of ADS is expected to take place.