291 firms selected for grant

KATHMANDU, MAY 10 -

The Agricultural Commerci-alisation and Trade Project (Pact) has selected 291 projects/firms eligible for its grant targeted to enable farmers and agribusiness groups to engage in profitable market-oriented production.

The 291 projects/firms were selected through a competitive selection process

among the 1,400 proposals, according to Pact, which will provide Rs 3-5 million in the form of grant to the selected projects. Pact is in operation since 2009 and will continue until June 2018. The project is implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture Development with the assistance of the World Bank.

Under the match-making grant project, Pact will invest around Rs 900 million, while the selected farmers and agribusiness group needs to invest a combined Rs 1 billion.

In the first phase, it had selected 52 firms, among 388 applicants and invested Rs 120 million on them.

The selected firms had invested Rs 144 million on the project. In the second phase, it had selected 204 projects, among 1,500 applicants.

This is the third project, under which, there were 55 vegetable production projects, 41 dairy production projects, 30 poultry groups, 23 dairy and dairy-related production groups, 22 coffee production projects, 20 seeds production projects, 12 floriculture groups and some animal husbandry projects.

“We will be signing an agreement with the selected projects by October-November and disburse the grant,” said Pact Director Yogendra Kumar Karki. Pact will also be expanded to all 75 districts from 25 districts at present, it said. The overall project objective is to improve the competitiveness of smallholder farmers and the agribusiness sector by helping farmer groups and cooperatives engage in profitable production.

The project also aims to improve access to markets through technology and information services will be investing Rs 8.20 billion by the end of the project.

Source: The Kathmandu Post