FAO Director-General pays courtesy call on President Paudel

KATHMANDU: A delegation led by Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations, Qu Dongyu, paid a courtesy call on President Ramchandra Paudel.

During the meeting held at Sheetal Niwas this morning, President Paudel said Nepal could be self-dependent if agriculture was made a respectable and attractive profession.

He shared that Nepal has expected FAO's support in this regard. Mentioning that agriculture sector has been facing climate change impacts, the President emphasized that the global community should pay its attention to lessen the climate change impacts on agro production, said President Paudel's Press Advisor, Kiran Pokharel. 

President Paudel urged the FAO to understand the unique climate sensitivity of Nepal and to increase resources related to financial, technical and capacity building for the same.

Similarly, FAO Director-General Dongyu said the FAO was always ready to provide technical support for the capacity enhancement of Nepal's agro sector.

Earlier on Thursday, the FAO Director-General met with Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Development Bedu Ram Bhusal.

During the meeting, Minister Bhusal 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.

Bhusal highlighted the jointly launched Country Programming Framework (CPF) for 2023-2027, which was hailed as a landmark initiative to revolutionise agrifood systems in the country.

The FAO Director-General was appreciative of the active cooperation between the organisation and Nepal, particularly through the FAO Hand-in-Hand Initiative, the One Country One Priority Product Initiative and the 1000 Digital Villages Initiatives. Noting Nepal’s huge potential, QU reaffirmed FAO’s support in assisting the country with the transformation of its agrifood systems.

The pair also noted that FAO was the first UN Agency to begin working in Nepal in 1951 – the year Nepal joined the FAO. Since then, FAO has cooperated with the Government of Nepal to promote agricultural development, enhance food security and nutrition, strengthen rural livelihoods and develop institutional capacity.