Pacts signed with WB to address food security, climate hazards
KATHMANDU, MAY 01 -
The government and the World Bank (WB) on Tuesday signed two new project agreements worth US$ 77.6 million to address food security among the poorest and to enhance government capacity to mitigate climate related hazards in the agriculture sector by improving the accuracy of weather forecasts.
Of the total amount, US$ 46.6 million has been allocated for the Nepal Agriculture and Food Security Project (NAFSP) and US$ 31 million for the Strategic Climate Fund Grant and loan agreement for the Building Resilience to Climate-Related Hazards (BRCH) project.
The agreements were signed by finance secretary Shanta Raj Subedi and Tahseen Sayed, World Bank country manager for Nepal.
The NAFSP targets the poorest and most vulnerable population in the Mid- and Far Western regions with a view to improving food and nutrition security as well as livelihood opportunities.
“It recognizes that unlocking the challenges of food security lies not only in increasing food availability but also in addressing health issues, particularly of pregnant and nursing women,” the WB said in a press statement.
Meanwhile, the BRCH project aims to improve Nepal’s hydro-meteorological services into a modern service-oriented system. The project intends to enhance the government’s capacity to mitigate climate-related hazards by improving the accuracy and timeliness of weather and flood forecasts for disaster preparedness.
The project will also support agricultural management information system services to help farmers mitigate climate-related hazards, the statement said.
Nepal ranks as the fourth most climate-vulnerable country in the world, and is highly exposed to a range of water related hazards such as floods and droughts, changing weather patterns, shifting corridors, species migration and changes in pest dynamics.
Current climate projections predict increased climate variability and increased frequency and higher intensity of extreme events. As most vulnerable populations are the smallholder farmers who are not yet equipped to mitigate or adapt to the impact of climate change, the NAFSP will help the targeted group to identify and promote drought tolerant crop varieties and resilient livestock breeds.
“Strengthening climate resilience, building adaptive capacity and improving food and nutrition security, especially for at-risk women, are key pillars of the WB’s development partnership with Nepal,” said Sayed. “I am pleased that the agricultural food security project will reach out to over 45,000 pregnant and nursing mothers in nearly 100,000 households in the Mid- and Far Western regions.”
Recognizing the high levels of exposure to climate change risks, the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) selected Nepal as one of nine pilot countries for the pilot programme for climate resilience in 2009.
The WB is an implementing agency of the CIF. Nepal’s strategic programme for climate resilience was developed by Nepal in partnership with the Asian Development Bank, International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the WB.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
