Bardiya, May 14, 2025 - A joint delegation from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Nepal Agricultural Cooperative Central Federation Ltd. (NACCFL) conducted a comprehensive field visit today to three Small Farmers Agricultural Cooperative Ltd. (SFACL) sites in Bardiya district — SFACL Mainapokhar, SFACL Deudakala, and SFACL Pannaha - as part of the pre-inception activities for a new three-year development project.
The FAO delegation was led by Lead Technical Officer Mr. Aziz Aryal and Senior Policy Officer Dr. Jun He, along with other FAO representatives. From NACCFL, Chairperson Mr. Khem Bahadur Pathak, Vice Chairperson Ms. Purna Sharma, and Board Member Mr. Hari Bahadur Adhikari were present, accompanied by other officials.
During the visit, each cooperative hosted an introductory session to share their cooperative status and local impact. These sessions featured interactive Q&A discussions between the cooperatives and the FAO delegation, focusing on project expectations, needs, and sustainability.
Following the interaction, the delegation visited enterprises operated by the cooperatives, observing firsthand how these initiatives are supporting smallholder farmers and contributing to rural livelihoods.
Chairperson Pathak emphasized the significance of the project, stating, “This project will play a crucial role in empowering smallholder farmers and enhancing food and nutrition security through diversified income generation opportunities.”
The project, titled "Improved Food and Nutrition Security Through Diversified Income Generation and Empowerment", is set to run for three years and will be implemented across five SFACLs in Bardiya — Mainapokhar, Deudakala, Pannaha, Purnima, and Kalika.
The key objective of the project is to enhance food and nutrition security and livelihood resilience among the most vulnerable and food-insecure households in Bardiya district, with a strong focus on gender inclusion and community-led empowerment.
All three cooperatives expressed their strong support and optimism toward the project and commended NACCFL’s leadership in launching such a timely and impactful initiative to uplift smallholder farmers across the region.
The official Inception Workshop for the project is scheduled for tomorrow in Nepalgunj, marking the formal beginning of this collaborative development effort.
