Agriculture Promotion Program

1. Background:

Kisan Multipurpose Cooperative Society was established in the year 2052 BS as a multi-purpose cooperative and has been providing financial and non-financial services in this sector continuously till now. Starting from the purchase and sale of food grains in the establishment phase, its main business schedule along with understanding the attitude of the people dependent on agriculture. It has also been conducting programs and agricultural promotion programs. More than 60,000 members are currently serving with this cooperative, which is based in Kailali district, and about 70 percent of those members are people dependent on subsistence agriculture with low income. The aim of the organization is to increase the employment at the local level and make a favorable impact on the overall economy by attracting such members who have been making agriculture their main source of livelihood to improve their income level.

Earlier, the organization has been distributing agricultural training, counseling, affordable chemical fertilizers, free seeds, free production materials and agricultural loans to the youth and women who are dependent on agriculture. However, considering the productivity of agricultural produce, import status and the number of people going for foreign employment in this area, realizing the need to implement special program in the wider area and include the youth in the scope of commercial agriculture. Integrated agricultural firm has been operated at cost.

2. Goals and Objectives:

Any entrepreneur should invest in the entrepreneurial sector to ensure investment. However, if the entrepreneurial sector is not guaranteed a return, it is likely that the investment will sink. Agriculture is the main investment sector in 70 percent of Kailali district or 70 percent of the beneficiary members of this cooperative. Whether it is to feed in the evening or in the morning or to meet the daily needs by earning a small income, everyone has been cultivating the land. In this regard, the main objective of this project is to motivate the members of the organization for commercial agriculture and raise their living standard by increasing their income. Additional objectives are as follows:

• To make the locals aware about the benefits of modern technology from commercial farming.
• To provide field training on agricultural technology to agricultural members in agricultural firms.
• To promote collective commercial farming for risk reduction.
• Facilitate mass collection, processing and marketing after production.
• Marketing of member products by acting as collection center.
• To develop model agro-tourism.
• To create monarchy at the local level.
• To give loan on the basis of value chain by pledging agricultural produce for a certain period of time.

3. Goals: The goals set by this integrated agricultural firm are as follows:

• From the proposed independent 2 crop cycle annual 200 metric tons of vegetables
• To provide modern and commercial agriculture training to 4,000 farmer members in the first year.
• Provide farm field training to the first 1000 farmer members within a year.
• Produce high season plastic house and produce non-seasonal vegetables.
• Train the first 100 people on hotnell plastic technology.
• To guarantee at least 7 people at the local level for regular and 40 people for periodic illness.
• To provide agricultural loan to the trained local women and youth without collateral and with collateral.
• Encourage members to produce group based products and collect and market at least 4 tons of vegetables they produce annually.
• To establish a toll one product slogan.
• To prepare necessary infrastructures for the construction of agricultural pocket areas in different places of the district in the coming years.
• To provide direct benefits to the farmers by eliminating middlemen in agribusiness.
• To make the agricultural profession respectable and dignified by conducting farmer's campaign.
• To meet the short term financial needs of the farmers before the production by using the farmer farming card.

4. Expected Outcome:

• Decrease in quantity of vegetable import in East Kailali.
• Increased income of at least 500 families and change in living standards.
• Reduction in the number of youths going for foreign employment.
• Increase in the savings and loan business of this institution.
• With the implementation of the concept of one house one product and the end of middlemen, the price of vegetables will be reduced and overall inflation will be controlled.
• Agriculture will be considered as a dignified and respected profession.