Nepal has taken its first step towards developing a national agroforestry policy, following a three-day consultation workshop held from 26-28 March in Kathmandu.

More than 150 people attended the meeting, which was jointly organized by the World Agroforestry Centre, Nepal’s Ministry of Agricultural Development, Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation, and the Asia Network for Sustainable Agriculture and Bio-resources (ANSAB).

At the close of the workshop, Nepal’s Minister of Agricultural Development released the Kathmandu Declaration on Agroforestry which states: “In order to have a more focused and coordinated strategy and approach to promoting agroforestry among various actors and stakeholders, participants agree to develop a National Agroforestry Policy for Nepal”.

The policy is expected to help ease regulatory constraints and ultimately strengthen Nepal’s food security, environmental security and soil health.

The Kathmandu Declaration recognizes the role of the World Agroforestry Centre in developing and implementing India’s National Agroforestry Policy and identifies the Centre as a potential partner for Nepal’s Agroforestry Policy development.

Attendees who were involved in the development of India’s Agroforestry Policy discussed their experiences and lessons learnt.

Dr. Javed Rizvi, World Agroforestry Centre Regional Coordinator for South Asia, facilitated a session to identify specific themes that require immediate attention and need to be priorities in the national policy. These included: helping Nepalese farmers develop income-generating projects from commercial agroforestry; strengthening the country’s food security through the use of multipurpose trees; improving the quality of planting material and germplasm; developing sources of bio-energy; fighting land degradation and improving soil health; and developing agroforestry models suited to Nepal’s different ecological zones.

Find out more: Kathmandu Declaration calls for a National Agroforestry Policy for Nepal 

Related story: In Nepal, a stronger partnership for agroforestry