IFPRI organized a two day workshop on “Agricultural Extension Reforms in South Asia – Status, Challenges, and Policy Options” to be organized at Committee Room 3, NASC, Pusa, New Delhi on February 17-18, 2015. IFPRI has been conducting research related to agricultural extension reforms in India and collaborating with researchers in other south Asian countries for the past five years through various projects. For understanding extension reforms in India, a major consultation was held in NAARM in 2009 during which policy makers called for development of evidence for spreading extension reform process in India. Since then several research papers have been produced on various aspects of Indian extension system. While they are presented in various forms including several discussion papers, there is a need to pull all the research result together to present it in form that could be used by the policy makers to further guide them in the reform process. South Asian countries such as Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka are going through similar challenges in getting knowledge to farmers. Several experiment shave been conducted to test new approaches to extension by the public, private and NGO sectors. Learning from each country experiences will bring collective understanding and knowledge for the policy makers who are attempting to bring changes in the reform process. The purpose of this workshop is to bring together a groups of researchers, analysts and policy makers to present the issues, constraints and challenges facing agricultural extension reforms that are being implemented in South Asian countries.

1. Agriculture extension system reforms and
policy implication in Nepal
Presented by
Rajendra Uprety
Senior Agriculture Development Officer, Department of Agriculture,
Nepal.
Email: upretyr@yahoo.com

3. Agriculture in Nepal
Population of Nepal is 2.64 million (CBS 2014).
65.5% is engaged in agriculture .
Offered employment to 66 per cent of the
economically active population.
39 per cent contribution in GDP.
13 per cent of the total foreign trade of the
country (NPC, 2010).

4. -30
-20
-10
0
10
20
30
40
50
-9 -6 -6
-12
-21
20
41
12
PercentageofLand
Crops
Percentage of area change of different crops in Nepal
(2001-2011)

5. 559 586 610
692 653
744
935 954
1125 1147
1040
19 24 35 57 94
140
187
237
281
389
566
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1961 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
Valueofcommodities(inmillions
US$)
Years
Value of rice and vegetables produced in Nepal (1961-
2010)
Rice
Vegetable

6. -60
-40
-20
0
20
40
60
Goat Pig Sheep Poultry Cattle Buffalo Yak
59
30 29
49
-11 -9
-49
Percentageofanimal
Animals
Percentage of animal population change in Nepal
(2001-2011)

9. Agriculture Extension in Nepal
Started: in 1952 (Establishment of Tribhuvan Village
Development Department (TVDD)
In 1955: Department of Agriculture was established
with Agriculture Extension Division and Zonal offices
Since then organizational structures were integrated
and disintegrated several times for the agricultural
development in the country.
Currently, there are three departments Agriculture,
Livestock and Food Technology and Quality Control

10. Ministry of
Agriculture
Development
Department of
Agriculture
Regional
Directorate-5
Laboratories-15
Training Center-5
District Office-75
Service Center-378
Department of
Livestock Service
Regional
Directorate-5
Laboratories-5
Training Center-5
District Officer-75
Service Center-999
Department of
Food Technology
and Quality Control
Regional Offices-5
& Apple Processing
Center-1
Food Quarantine
Laboratories-5 &
Food Inspection
Units-20

11. S.
No.
Particulars Extent of coverage by
extension service
Agriculture Livestock
1 Rural population per service center
(SC)
60,197 22,777
2 Total cultivated area or livestock/SC 11,877 (ha) 11,589
3 Village development committees/SC 10.4 3.9
4 Village development
committees/JT/JTA
2.5 2.7
Table 1. Coverage by agricultural extension service in Nepal, 2007/08
Source: MOAC. 2008. Statistical information on Nepalese agriculture 2007/08
All together 1703 offices under the MOAD, 49 are central level and
50 are regional offices. District level offices are 227 and Service
centers/sub-centers are 1377. Total human resources under MOAD
are 13930 of which 1823 are in Nepal Agriculture Research Council
(NARC).

12. Agriculture Service Centers

13. Agriculture extension models / approaches tried
in Nepal
Conventional
Training and Visit system (T&V)
Block Development
Integrated Rural Development Model
Tuki
Farming System Research
Farmer Group Approach
Contract out / Partnership of Extension Programs
IPM (Farmers Field School)
Farmers to Farmers
Value Chain Approach etc.

14. Strengths of Agricultural Service Delivery System
in Nepal
Well established organizational structure and
infrastructures and supporting facilities like agricultural
farms, laboratories (seed, soil and plant protection) and
agriculture training centers throughout the country, up
to the service center level.
Availability of permanent human resources with
specialization in different agricultural fields
Established partnership with other organizations like
I/NGOs, private input suppliers (called agro vets),
farmers groups and cooperatives (Sah, 2010; Thapa,
2010).

15. Weaknesses of Agricultural Service Delivery
System in Nepal
1. Inadequate capacity of extension workers to advise farmers
2. Weak linkages of extension with research and education institutes
3. Limited coverage of the extension service
4. Disadvantaged/marginalized farmers poorly served by the extension
system
5. Slow pace of agricultural commercialization and weak
competitiveness due to higher cost of production
6. Weak extension support services
7. Weak Farmers’ Organizations (FOs)
8. Limited focus & participation of youth in agriculture
9. Weak devolution of extension service to local bodies
10. Cooperatives are too profit oriented rather than on cooperative
principles
11. National macro- policies and agriculture policies should be
synchronized

16. Extension policies for emerging issues implementing
by the government in Nepal
Pluralistic Agriculture Extension
Privatization in agriculture extension
Decentralization of Extension
ICT for Agriculture and Extension
Subsidies on fertilizers, seed and agriculture loan
Location-specific mission program
Youth-focus commercial agriculture development program

17. Conclusion
Present agriculture extension and its capacity is
inadequate to addressed rapidly changing crop
specific extension needs.
There should be need based reform in the
structure as well as its staffs.
It is nor possible to fulfill diversified farmers
need by public extension services alone. So it is
better to work-together.
Youth population leaving agriculture and it is
necessary to attract youth force in agriculture to
reform it and its sustainability.

18. Cost and labor saving agri-mechanization and
better market management skill is necessary to
make agriculture more profitable.
Without better profit agriculture will not be more
productive and sustainable.
So agriculture extension services become more
challenging.
Use of ICT is a better option to enhance our
coverage and effectiveness. Regional cooperation
and partnership will be very helpful to update
each other and face global challenge together.

19. To strengthen regional network one meeting was
organize in Kathmandu last year (14-15 January , 2014). It
was first face to face meeting. From Nepal DG-DOA , DDG
planning, President of Nepal Agriculture Extension
society, Dr. Binod Sharma IDE/INGO, Yamuna Ghale/SDC
and Director of Agriculture Extension Directorate were
participated.
Those all participants are in AESA network and using this
forum as sharing & learning with all members. In recent
NAES October meeting formed Nepal net for AESA with
following members. Program Director/AED focal point,
Chairman-NAES, Director of department of extension-
AFU, Dr. Binod Sharma IDE and Ms Yamuna Ghale-SDC.

20. Thank you very much