Embassy of India, Kathmandu organized an India-Nepal Agri Meet cum Curtain Raiser for
the International Year of Millets 2023 on 15 December 2022 in hybrid format in
association with the Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development
Authority (APEDA). Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) also participated in
the event. Nepali side’s participation in the event was led by Dr. Govind Prasad Sharma,
Secretary (Agriculture Development), Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock
Development, Government of Nepal.
The resolution to celebrate the International Year of Millets 2023 (IYM 2023) was
adopted in the United Nations in 2021 at the initiative of India with the support of 72
other countries.
India is the world’s largest producer of millets, producing 17 million tonnes annually of
nine different varieties of millets, which is about 20% of the global production. Millets
offer unique nutritional benefits and can grow on arid land with minimal rainfall and
relatively resilient to changes in climate. According to FAO, they offer an ideal solution
for countries to increase self-sufficiency and reduce reliance on imported cereal grains.
India-Nepal agricultural cooperation is anchored in the ‘India-Nepal New Partnership in
Agriculture’, which was launched in 2018 with a focus on collaborative projects in
agricultural research, development and education. India and Nepal are also significant
trading partners of each other for a variety of agricultural products, including millets.
Addressing the gathering, Shri Prasanna Shrivastava, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy
of India, Kathmandu highlighted the importance as well as potential of millets in
ensuring food security for the world. Dr. Tarun Bajaj, Director, APEDA, elaborated on the
export promotion and capacity building efforts by APEDA towards IYM 2023.
From the Nepali side, Dr. Govind Prasad Sharma, Secretary (Agriculture development),
Ministry of Agriculture & Livestock Development, Government of Nepal, spoke about
the importance millets hold in Nepal, and also identified the areas of bilateral
cooperation in the agricultural sector. Dr. Ram Krishna Shrestha, Joint Secretary,
Ministry of Agriculture & Livestock Development delivered a presentation on the
“Millets Promotion Endeavours of the Government of Nepal and International Year of
Millets 2023”.
Embassy will continue to promote India-Nepal cooperation in agriculture and will
promote millets through a variety
