Israel committed to taking agricultural trainees from Nepal

KATHMANDU: The Embassy of Israel in Nepal has pledged to assist in sending the children of the members of Small Farmer Agricultural Co-operative Limited to Israel for agricultural studies and training. In a meeting with Chairperson of Small Farmer Development Microfinance Financial Institution and Nepal Agricultural Co-operative Central Federation, Khem Bahadur Pathak; Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Shivaram Prasad Koirala; Deputy CEOs Nawaraj Simkhada and Jhalendra Bhattarai of Small Farmer Development Microfinance Financial Institution, Israeli Ambassador to Nepal Hanan Goder said that he was committed to sending agricultural trainees to Israel. The procedure had come to halt for some time due to Covid 19 pandemic, he said. He said he was happy to send trainees based in agriculture and animal husbandry to Israel and the role they play to transform the lives of the members of small farmers of Nepal. He also appreciated the opportunity to provide technical assistance to the small farmer members of villages through this small farmer campaign which has a network in around 75 districts in Nepal. Many people who returned home after practising and studying agriculture for 10 months in Israel are now becoming entrepreneurs. They are opening the door of possibility in Nepal, Ambassador Goder said. During the meeting, Pathak said the role played by youth farmers in agriculture and livestock production was commendable. He said that Israel has benefitted Nepali farmers by providing opportunities to the youths of Nepal as trainee students. On behalf of small farmers, Pathak thanked the Government of Israel and the Israeli Embassy in Nepal and Ambassador Hanan Goder stating  their role is important. He said the programme of sending students to Israel for agricultural studies was also helping to improve the relations between the two countries. He said the program was important to bring Israel's latest technology to Nepal. He stressed the need for making the programme more comprehensive by including all the youth farmers of the country. The opportunity provided by Israel has greatly helped in changing the lives of the poor people from marginalised communities, he added. Moreover, Pathak also stressed the need for the government to support this programme as the youths who have returned from Israel were involved in model agriculture. Yudha Neupane of Jeevanpur, Dhading, who returned from Israel after learning agricultural skills, is now selling vegetables worth Rs 10 million annually. Similarly, Devraj Acharya of Naubise, Dhading, is also an example of cultivating vegetables. Similarly, Tanahun's goat farm, Srijana Chaudhary's fish farming business in Rupandehi, Chandra Basnet's agricultural work in Jhapa and many other youths' agriculture and animal husbandry activities are good examples. With the help of Israeli technology, many youths in Nepal have become entrepreneurs and are earning good incomes. The process of sending Nepali farmers' children to Israel as trainee workers for a period of 10 months began with the initiative by Israeli Ambassador Goder who has good knowledge about Nepal's affairs. READ ALSO:

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