USAID commemorates partnership with govt

KATHMANDU, AUG 15 -

The US Agency for International Development ( USAID ) on Wednesday commemorated its almost three-year partnership with the Nepal government and the Nepali private sector to foster economic growth and improve food security.

Since 2010, this partnership, through the USAID -funded Nepal Economic, Agriculture, and Trade (NEAT) project, has sought to improve the business environment, strengthen fiscal and trade policies, encourage competitiveness and exports of tea, ginger, lentils, and coffee, enhance food security, and increase access to financial services.

In a statement, the USAID said the NEAT worked with more than 75,000 households in 32 districts, directly improving the lives of 560,000 people. It said the project worked with 20 private firms and almost 67,000 farmers, increasing farmer sales by $26.5 million, with another $10 million in incremental farmer sales projected for the summer of 2013.

It also facilitated the disbursement of more than $3.67 million in rural loans by financial sector partners, creating much-needed cash flow in local economies and supporting small-businesses. The programme helped more than 19,000 rural customers find new access to formal financial services and supported Nepal government to analyze 40 policies and administrative reforms, of which nine are already being implemented, including tax payments through the Any Bank Branching System (ABBS), according to the statement.

Speaking at the closing event, Sheila Lutjens, USAID /Nepal’s acting mission director, said: “Advancing economic growth must be a sustained, prioritized effort because it benefits everyone-every political party, civil society and the private sector, and rich and poor Nepalis in cities and in rural areas.”

The statement said the USAID will continue the successes, best practices, and efforts of NEAT’s agriculture work through recently-launched five-year Knowledge-based Integrated Sustainable Agriculture and Nutrition (KISAN) project.

KISAN has been launc-hed in Mid- and- Far-West regions to improve food security, increase income, and diversify diets for about a million rural Nepalis.

Source: The Kathmandu Post