Regional Director of ICA Asia and Pacific Visits NACCFL
NACCFL had the pleasure of welcoming Mr. Balasubramanian (Balu) G. Iyer, Regional Director of ICA Asia and Pacific, during his visit to the NACCFL office.
During the visit, NACCFL presented an overview of its organizational structure, ongoing initiatives, and key activities, with particular emphasis on interventions aimed at strengthening and empowering agriculture cooperatives and smallholder farmers in Nepal.
Mr. Iyer expressed particular interest in NACCFL’s initiatives to engage, retain, and empower youth in the cooperative and agriculture sectors. In this regard, Mr. Akaraj Upreti, Chairperson of NACCFL, highlighted various initiatives undertaken by NACCFL, including technical education and capacity-building programs. He also shared information on NACCFL’s initiative, in coordination with Sana Kisan Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited, to establish a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Dairy Development Corporation (DDC) of the Government of Nepal, particularly to address the credit cycle and financial challenges faced by dairy farmers. He emphasized that this initiative is an important step toward addressing the practical challenges faced by farmers and strengthening the dairy value chain.
Similarly, Mr. Khem Bahadur Pathak, Chief Advisor of NACCFL, highlighted the Learn and Earn Program of the Government of Israel, initiated through the collaboration of NACCFL and the SKBBL . He explained how the program is motivating young people to remain engaged in agriculture with more enhanced skill while also encouraging their participation in cooperatives. The initiative has not only contributed to increasing youth membership in cooperatives but has also encouraged young people to take on leadership roles within the cooperative movement.
Mr. Iyer encouraged NACCFL to document and share its innovative initiatives, experiences, and good practices through learning materials, publications, and newsletters. He emphasized that such knowledge resources could serve as valuable learning materials and enable successful practices to be shared, adapted, and replicated beyond Nepal.
The program was attended by Mr. Min Raj Kadel, Immediate Past Chairperson of NCF Nepal; Mr. Ramesh Prasad Pokhrel, Senior Vice-Chairperson of NCF Nepal; Mr. Akaraj Upreti, Chairperson of NACCFL; Mr. Khem Bahadur Pathak, Chief Advisor of NACCFL; Mr. Maheshwor Subedi, Coordinator of the Account Supervisory Committee of NACCFL; Dr. Babu Kaji Thapa, General Manager of NCF Nepal; Dr. Rudra Bahadur Shrestha, General Manager of NACCFL; and other senior officials of NACCFL.
The visit provided a valuable platform for knowledge exchange, reflection, and dialogue on strengthening collaboration between ICA Asia and Pacific and NACCFL. The discussions reaffirmed a shared commitment to advancing the cooperative movement, strengthening agriculture and livelihoods, and promoting meaningful and sustainable youth participation and leadership in cooperatives in Nepal and across the Asia-Pacific region.
