Kathmandu: The Nepal Food Forum 2025 (NFF 2025) concluded successfully with a strong emphasis on building inclusive, climate-friendly, and sustainable agri-food systems. The forum highlighted the central role of youth in transforming Nepal’s agriculture sector through innovation, entrepreneurship, and skills development to ensure long-term food security.
Jointly organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (MoALD), the forum is expected to contribute to Nepal’s agricultural development strategies, national food security goals, and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Addressing the forum, FAO Representative Ken Shimizu underscored the importance of youth leadership, innovation, and partnerships in agri-food system transformation, noting that inclusive and climate-resilient systems are essential for sustainable food security. UNDP Nepal’s Hanna Singer-Hamdy echoed this view, stressing the need to advance policies, investments, and technologies together with youth at the core to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss.
Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Development Madan Pariyar emphasized making agriculture an attractive sector for employment and entrepreneurship, calling for youth-friendly policies, improved access to finance, and market assurance to address rural unemployment. MoALD Secretary Rajendra Mishra reaffirmed the government’s commitment to evidence-based policies, digital technologies, and innovation, while Secretary of the Ministry of Forests and Environment Govinda Sharma highlighted the critical link between natural resource conservation and sustainable agriculture.
The forum featured sessions on digital agriculture, risk reduction and early warning systems, healthy diets, biodiversity conservation, and youth-led agribusiness innovations. Discussions also explored strengthening value chains of local products from Himalayan and hill regions such as cardamom, ginger, Himalayan honey, yak cheese, and high-altitude crops to generate employment, increase incomes, and enhance climate resilience.
