Knowledge-based Integrated Sustainable Agriculture in Nepal (KISAN) II

OVERVIEW

USAID’s Feed the Future Knowledge-based Integrated Sustainable Agriculture in Nepal (KISAN) II increases the resilience, inclusiveness, and sustainability of income growth through agricultural development.  This activity leverages public and private sector investments in agriculture and strengthens market systems.

HIGHLIGHT

USAID’s KISAN II partners with 180 private sector stakeholders to reach over 200,000 farming households producing key agricultural commodities.  Interventions have contributed to an increase of over $144 million in sales and yield increases for rice, maize, lentils, and vegetables when compared to baseline figures from 2018.

USAID Leverages the Private Sector to Promote Inclusive Growth:  

USAID focuses on market systems, recognizing that social and geographic contexts and barriers create an uneven playing field for some groups.  USAID takes this into consideration when facilitating business relationships between private sector actors and farmers.  Through engagement with the private sector and Government of Nepal at the national, provincial and local levels, USAID supports over 200,000 households; facilitates the government’s promotion of inclusive, private sector-driven agricultural growth; and helps Nepal to transition to higher value agriculture production.

USAID Partners with the Government of Nepal at Every Tier:  

While USAID focuses on private sector engagement, it also partners with and supports all three tiers of government in Nepal: national, provincial, and local.  USAID engages the Government of Nepal at the planning, implementation, and monitoring stages of the program cycle and then convenes a project steering committee to provide performance updates to the government.  USAID promotes private sector-led approaches, best practices, and models to national and sub-national government officials and works to facilitate replication of successful models in government systems.  USAID identifies policy constraints and seeks support to resolve them to sustain a better functioning market system.

USAID Supports Marginalized Communities Participating in Markets:  

USAID focuses on increasing resilience and building the capacity of marginalized communities to participate in market functions.  USAID employs an engagement approach with partners where it helps build the capacity of marginalized farmers to participate in market activities, which then increases the demand for smallholder production, labor, and related goods and services.  USAID also improves the affordability and accessibility of skills, resources, inputs, and supporting services needed by marginalized groups to participate competitively in markets.