India assures support to Nepal in farm sector

Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh today met his Nepalese counterpart Chakra Pani Khanal and assured full support for the growth of agriculture sector in the neighbouring country.

Khanal, the minister for agriculture, land management and cooperatives in Nepal government, met Singh in the national capital, an official statement said.

Singh assured his Nepalese counterpart of "India's support to further Nepal's agriculture sector".

The minister said that both countries are largely agrarian and agriculture has been identified by the two sides as an important area of bilateral cooperation.

In the inaugural ministerial meeting of India-Nepal 'New Partnership in Agriculture', the two ministers discussed ways to strengthen cooperation in the agriculture sector.

The co-operation would be in the areas like farm research and education, supply of fertilisers, mutual recognition of inspection, testing and certification system, trade facilitation measures, strengthening livestock services, veterinary research and development facilities, and promoting exchanges between the India Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC).

Singh said a pilot project on organic farming and soil health for implementation by India in Nepal has also been finalised.

He further said that India would be happy to share with Nepal its experiences in implementing new initiatives for enhancing agri-productivity and welfare of farmers.

Initiatives like Soil Health Card, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna, eNAM, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojna etc have been yielding positive results, he said, and hoped that the visiting delegation gained fruitful knowledge that would help improve the respective areas of agriculture and allied sectors in Nepal.

Khanal, who is on a five-day visit from June 19-23, will visit Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Pusa and National Centre of Organic Farming, Ghaziabad.

Singh will visit Nepal for the next 'New Partnership in Agriculture' meeting.

The prime ministers of India and Nepal had launched the New Partnership in Agriculture on April 7, 2018 to increase bilateral cooperation in agricultural sector for the benefit of farmers of both the nations.