Green economic development in Nepal

Agriculture, as the most weather-dependent industry, is not only Nepal's most important economic sector, but also one of the country's most important employment providers. Currently, about 66% of Nepal's labor force works in agriculture but generates only 27% of gross domestic product, and people working in agriculture in the western part of the country are among the poorest in the population. Therefore, the country's economic development potential is closely linked to its ability to adapt to the impacts of climate change and increase agricultural productivity through green and climate resilient approaches.

The GRAPE project is intended to contribute to the Nepalese government's approach to sustainable development, which aims to address risks to people, the planet, and the economy in an integrated way. ICON Institute GmbH and HELVETAS have jointly developed an approach that brings together international best practices in sustainable rural economic development with local knowledge and experience in agricultural value chains so that climate resilience and green economic growth is promoted.

The main objective of the project is to improve framework conditions for local economic development in selected municipalities and value chains at local and provincial level. Through the adaption of agricultural practices to climate change, income opportunities of marginalized households are strengthened. Socially disadvantaged groups and women will benefit from greater participation in the value chains.

The project adopts a market-oriented and multi-actor approach that includes measures to improve cooperation between the public, private and civil society sectors from the partner municipalities Simikot and Kharpunath. Relevant stakeholders for climate-resilient, agriculture-based local economic development include policy stakeholders, agricultural producers and processors as well as regional knowledge organizations, NGOs and universities that provide technical support to municipalities for agricultural extension services. The achievements and findings of the knowledge exchange and cooperation will support the roll-out of proven climate smart agriculture measures. Further, the capacities of 19 partner municipalities are strengthened to integrate environmentally friendly and climate-resilient agricultural production and processing methods as a basis for sustainable local economic development. This is expected to create favorable conditions for the transformation of the local agricultural economy, improve the performance of agricultural sector actors, and increase resilience to climate-related impacts on the local economy.

The project is carried out on behalf of the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ).