Japan provides grant assistance for the Project for the Construction of Training Center for Women’s Cooperatives in Udayapur District

Japanese government has extended financial assistance of US Dollar 80,532, equivalent to approximately Nepalese Rupees 8,587,000, to Nepal Social Development and People Empowerment Centre (NESPEC) under the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP) scheme of the Government of Japan in Japan’s Fiscal Year 2016. NESPEC, a local NGO in Udayapur District, will work with Small Farmer Women Agriculture Cooperative Society, Rampur Thoskila, to implement the Project for the Construction of Training Center for Women’s Cooperatives in Udayapur District.

According to a press release issued by Japanese Embassy, a grant contract relating to this project was signed and exchanged today at the Embassy of Japan, between Masashi OGAWA, Ambassador of Japan to Nepal, and Ganga Rai, President of Nepal Social Development and People Empowerment Centre.

This grant assistance will be used to implement the project in Thoksila VDC in Udayapur District and aims to promote income generation of female farmers in the area.

In Nepal, about 60 percent of the total population is engaged in agriculture. Among that, more than 70 percent are women. However, very few, about one tenth, of these females own a house or land. Therefore, females lack cash income and are dependent on their family and income earners. Especially, the poverty level of small-scale female farmers in the rural area is severe, and needs to be improved.

Small Farmer Women Agriculture Cooperative Society, established in 2012 in Udayapur, has 600 registered members. Their aim is to support small scale female farmers by providing loans with minimum interest and also renting and selling agricultural tools, fertilizer and seeds.

However, due to the remoteness of the area, female farmers face difficulties in finding an opportunity to participate in trainings related to agriculture and cooperative management skills.  In this way, earning a living continues to be a challenge.

The recipient of this fund, NESPEC, was established in 1997. Since then, the NGO is devoted to the development of Udayapur and the surrounding area, by supporting socially and economically disadvantaged people. With the construction of the training center, female farmers in this remote area can participate in various trainings for income generation and cooperative management, which would lead to the improvement of their lives.

“The Embassy of Japan in Nepal expects the success of this project will benefit the rural female farmers to improve their living, and will also enhance the cordial friendship between the peoples of Japan and Nepal,” said a press release issued by Japanese Embassy.