NICCI organises 2nd Potato Summit on International Day of Potato

KATHMANDU: Nepal‑India Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NICCI) organised the 2nd Potato Summit, coinciding with the International Day of Potato, today.

The summit gathered an audience of farmers, industrialists, experts, agronomists, journalists and government representatives to showcase market developments in potato cultivation and usage.

Nepal matches the worldwide average by producing 17.20 metric tonnes of potatoes per hectare. Import metrics show the arrival of potato products in frozen, raw or seed fork form in exchange for Rs. 6.7 billion in Nepal over the last year. Potato is a strategic commodity for food security whose production can benefit greatly through legal and financial interventions.

Chief guest at the Potato Summit 2025, Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Development (MoALD) Ram Nath Adhikari commended the versatility and resilience of the potato crop.

Other guests who addressed the audience included Garima Nautiyal, Second Secretary from the Embassy of India; SP Singh, Vice‑President – Supply Chain at Technico Agriscience; Ken Shimizu, Country Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations for Nepal and Bhutan; Govinda Prasad Sharma, Secretary at MoALD; Kusum Devi Thapa, Committee Chairperson at the Cooperatives and Natural Resource Committee; Sunita Nhemhaphuki, CEO of 3S Foundation; Deepak Kumar Kharal, Secretary at MoALD; and Prakash Kumar Sanjel, Director‑General of the Department of Agriculture at MoALD.

For seed value chain optimisation, quality improvement, disease management, accessibility, affordability, technological innovation, investment areas and policy support, NICCI organised a series of presentations.

The presenters were Januka Pandit, Salikram Gautam, Sashi Adhikari, Hikmat Kumar Shrestha, Santosh Dahal, Yuba Laraj Bhusal, Prem Lal Chaudhary, Krishna Bhakta Shrestha, Neeku Acharya, Krishna Sharma, Kishwor Lohani, Shyam Dhakal, Prakash Gajurel, Susil Dev Subedi, Tek Raj Bhatta and Nischal Singh Bhandari.

The summit also held a panel discussion moderated by agronomist Binod Shah. Panel members included Mahesh Kharel, Mayor of Panchkhal Municipality in Kavrepalanchok district; Jagat Bahadur Gurung, Mayor of Belkotgadhi Municipality in Nuwakot district; Bishnu Bahadur Bista, Mayor of Thaha Municipality in Makawanpur district; Bhakta Dhoj Bohara, Chairperson of Tripurasundari Rural Municipality in Sindhupalchok district; and Ganga Bahadur Tamang, Chairperson of Balephi Rural Municipality in Sindhupalchok district.

Key takeaways from the summit were the need for management of cold storage warehouses and containers. Farmers were urged to plan their harvest based on season rather than the calendar. To make the Nepali market self‑sustainable, production must reach 18.30 metric tonnes per hectare, achieved using parent plants of agro‑climatic suitability. India experienced 40 times growth in potato products’ market share with just a threefold increase in cultivated land for potato production over the last 50 years, and their journey was also shared by Technico Agriscience’s representatives.

A dossier of the day’s many insights from farmers and industrialists, data from experts, recommendations from agronomists and complaints and mitigation strategies by Nepalis involved in potato cultivation was compiled and presented to MoALD.