NICCI hosts first-ever Potato Summit in Kathmandu

KATHMANDU: Nepal-India Chamber of Commerce & Industry (NICCI) held the first-ever 'Potato Summit' in Kathmandu to mark the International Day of the Potato, on Thursday. 

The summit was organised in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (MoALD). The FAO has designated 30 May as the International Day of Potato. 

The Potato Summit aimed to foster knowledge exchange, promote innovation, and address challenges faced by stakeholders involved in the potato industry in Nepal, given the important role of potatoes in Nepal's agricultural landscape and its contribution to food security, rural livelihoods, and economic growth. 

NICCI President Shreejana Rana, in her welcome remarks, stated that Nepal's potato industry has experienced significant growth over the years, with advancements in cultivation practices and governmental support programmes. Despite these achievements, there are still challenges to be addressed, and opportunities to be capitalised, Rana said. She added that the ideas and inputs shared by the experts and participants will be crucial to promote potato as a major product in terms of food security and self-sustainability. 

Chief Guest at the summit, Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Development Jwala Kumari Sah, expressed that the summit will help identify the pertinent issues in the potato as an agro product which is favourable to anyone in the world, and could provide a pathway for the future in the context of Nepal and from the Government's perspective. She said, "As a concerned Minister and Ministry, we are here for farmers, traders, and the industry, and the inputs and suggestions from today’s panel discussions will be extremely helpful for the ministry for policy-level reform for this sector as well as the overall agricultural sector in Nepal."

Keynote Speaker from the FAO, Monika Thatova, highlighted the Global Potato Scenario. 

NK Jha, CEO of Technico Agri Sciences Ltd India, shared the practice and technical collaboration on potato farming aspects in India in the session titled 'Neighbouring Country’s Experience'. Jha further informed that in 1935, India recognised potato as one of the major potential crops and established a Research Centre to conduct research on potato, potato seeds and so far has developed 375 varieties of potato and is able to produce 16 million metric tonnes of potatoes per annum. Today, India is the second-largest potato supplier in the global market. 

Ken Shimizu, Country Representative of the FAO for Bhutan and Nepal, highlighted the collaboration being made in the agro sector and especially in the potato sector in Nepal and Bhutan. He further highlighted that the practices being made in both countries are very similar as both countries share a similar type of climate and landscape. 

In the first panel discussion 'Seed and Table Potato Value Chain', Mohan Shrestha, a potato farmer from Sindhupalchok district, highlighted the gaps in linkages between producers and traders which need to be addressed by the government implementing a proper mechanism. Another panellist, Santosh Dahal, stressed the need for research where the government could help the private sector to encourage as of now the private sector is doing research works and requesting government bodies to recognise the private sector's findings of the research. 

Binod Shah, Assistant FAO Representative (programme), opined that potato is the only product which has immense possibilities in terms of self-sustainability, food security and financial viability. Shah further informed the session that the FAO is supporting the government as well as the producers and private sectors in the area of capacity enhancement and is willing to work even more in the days ahead to enhance production and provide technical inputs to stakeholders in the coming days. 

MoALD Joint Secretary Januka Pandit presented a paper on the Current Status of Potato in Nepal, Gaps and Way Forward. 

Agronomist Shyam Dhakal, representing First Choice Foods, highlighted the collaboration and cooperation made from the Private Sector as a keynote speaker in the panel discussion ‘Engagement on Value Chain from Private Sector”. 

MoALD Secretary Deepak Kumar Kharal spoke on the area where the government could assist in enhancing production to link the market with appropriate policy for which the session will be more helpful. "Since the technology in the agricultural sector has also advanced today, we have various institutions which are producing human resources, so we also need to think about the area of technology enhancement for future production of potato and other agro products," he said and added that the recommendations and inputs from the summit could help identify issues and the way forward for the MoALD to address the issues and make proper policy for the betterment of the agricultural sector of the country. 

Sushama Sharma, Convener of the organising committee of the Potato Summit 2024, gave a vote of thanks to all the participants, sponsors, supporters and organising partner organisations present at the first-ever organised summit on potato worldwide.