FAO Delegation Led by Director-General Dr Qu Dongyu Concludes Three-Day Visit, Support Seven Decades Long Partnership with Nepal
The delegation headed he Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), QU Dongyu, successfully completed a three-day mission to the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal. The Director General paid a courtesy call with Rt Honorable President Ram Chandra Paudel and Rt Honorable Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal in Kathmandu. He also had a bilateral meeting with Hon’ble Beduram Bhusal, Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Development and, Hon’ble Minister Birendra Prasad Mahato, Minister of Forests and Environment.
The President appraised FAO’s support to the country and conveyed his appreciation to the FAO Director-General for the constructive discussions held with the Ministers from Nepal who participated in the World Food Forum (WWF) in October 2023.The Director-General reiterated his commitment to support Nepal in its graduation from Least Developed Country status and smooth transition. He further highlighted the importance of adopting enabling policies, promoting science and innovation, and attracting investment, and how FAO could support Nepal in these areas.
The Prime Minister informed that the country was now focused on economic building and would shortly graduate from the Least Developed Country category. The Prime Minister expressed his expectation on FAO to play an even more positive role in supporting Nepal., mainly focusing on attracting youth on agriculture, youth entrepreneurship , proper utilization of the fallow land , making agriculture more attractive and profitable through mechanization, digitalization and sound investment.
The Director-General replied to the Prime Minister’s request by reiterating FAO’s commitment to support the Government of Nepal in achieving overall agricultural development and the SDGs through science and innovation, enabling policies, and capacity development. He appraised the Prime Minister’s support for the active cooperation with FAO through the Organization’s flagship initiatives, including the Hand-in-Hand, One Country One Priority Product and 1000 Digital Villages, Green Cities resulting to achieve four betters- better production, better nutrition, a better environment, a better life, leave no one behind.
In the bilateral meeting with the Honourable ministers, they thanked for inputs provided to the country, introducing of new technologies and validating best practices, addressing persisting and emerging challenges in the agriculture and natural resource management sectors, as well as combating the impacts of the climate crisis.
The Minister thanked FAO for the technical assistance provided to the country, including through the introduction of new technologies and internationally validated best practices, addressing persisting and emerging challenges in the agriculture and natural resource management sectors, as well as combating the impacts of the climate crisis. The Director-General admired the Government of Nepal for its active participation and strong cooperation in FAO’s all corporate initiatives- Hand-in-Hand Initiative, the One Country One Priority Product Initiative, the 1000 Digital Villages Initiatives, Green Cities initiatives and one health initiatives. 4 betters
The Director-General and Vice President Honourable Ram Sahya Prasad Yadav and the Minister Bedu Ram Bhusal jointly inaugurated International Policy Dialogue on Future Smart Crops and launched Millets Compendium. The Director General emphasized the need for more and better crops, ensuring accessibility while minimizing environmental impact. He noted that over-reliance on a few staple crops leads to low dietary diversity. He added that underutilized crop species hold huge potential for a more inclusive, sustainable, climate-resilient future.
The Rt Honorable Vice President, Hon’ble Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Development and the Director General of FAO including other delegates observed the Future Smart Crops Exhibition which highlighted four key FAO initiatives – the 1000 Digital Villages Initiative, the One Country One Priority Product, the Hand-in-Hand Initiative, and the Green Cities Initiative, alongside other flagship projects.
In addition to this, visited the Nepal Agriculture Research Council (NARC) and interacted with the scientists. He observed potato tissue culture Laboratory, Plant Pathology Research Centre, Animal Breeding and Genetic Research Centre and National Gene Bank.The Director General visited the Central Veterinary Laboratory, observed the facilities and launched the animal health component the Global Health Security Program to strengthen the health systems of Nepal in tackling prioritized zoonotic diseases and Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) through an inclusive One Health approach.
The FAO Director-General attended the signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) outlining a five-year collaborative framework between FAO and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) to promote sustainable mountain development in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region. The Director General and delegation also visited Kavre and interacted with farmers, witnessed the adoption of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) technologies, and launched the "Tele Plant Doctor"—an AI and machine learning-based application to contribute to the Digital Village Initiative (DVI).
The Director-General praised unwavering strong partnership with Government of Nepal since 1951 and commended active engagement in facilitating the FAO flagships initiatives and regular program to achieve the better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life, leave no one behind.