Objective
“To Minimize impact of COVID-19 on livelihoods, resilience and food security on poor and vulnerable rural people and accelerate economic recovery by enabling a substantial increase in investment in the small-scale agricultural sector in supported states and improved access to digital services.”
Major Highlights
Project Duration
Target Beneficiaries
Funding Agency
Supporting Agency
Implementing Institution
Project Description
RPSF-APIA is a project of the Government of Nepal with grant support from IFAD and implemented by Agricultural Development Bank Limited (ADBL). The project aims to sustain and inclusive growth to allow poor, marginalized and climate vulnerable communities to benefit more substantially from economic growth and socio-economic development. The project’s goals are also strongly aligned with the objectives of the Agriculture Development Strategy, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development’s (MOALD) long term vision of “protective agriculture and secured saving” and the continuing efforts to increase lending to agriculture being led by NRB through its deprived and priority sector lending policies, digitalization of financial services and financial inclusion road map.
RPSF also contributes to the national priorities on agriculture in the context of COVID-19 – both in terms of expanding production for food security and in driving rural economic recovery and creating opportunities for returning migrants. Widespread access to mainstream finance for investment and other rural financial services (such as payments, insurance, remittances, and savings) are the key enablers for accelerating private investment in agriculture to achieve these objectives.
With an 18-month duration, RPSF-APIA will focus on expanding financial and digital services through Kisan Credit Cards and Kisan Mobile APPS to ADBL’s client base as well as beneficiaries of ASDP, RERP and VITA projects. “Kisan Credit Card” and “Kisan Mobile App” have also been identified as high priority services for small farmers by GON in its annual budget and program for FY 2077/78 (FY 2020/21) and Monitory Policy.
The target group of the project will comprise of small-scale producers, traders, processors, wholesalers, retailers including input suppliers and agro-vet traders from the selected supply chains. With the objective to minimize impact of COVID-19 on livelihoods, resilience and food security, the project will focus on extensively expanding the service platform of ADBL to increase the access of farmers to institutional financial services and agriculture market information.
With its major impetus on digitalization, RPSF-APIA aims to build resilience should there be a similar crisis creating disruptions in the agricultural finance systems. The project will facilitate access to markets by offering digitalized information and support interventions on the demand side by offering them digitalised financials services via the Kisan Card and Kishan Mobile App in a way that will allow them to make payments even in situations when bank branches are under lockdown and physical transactions becomes unfeasible. On the supply side, RPSF-APIA will also assist in improving the efficiency and timeliness of the financial services provided by ADBL by assisting the bank to automate loan processing in a way that will allow them to increase outreach and expand and deepen financial services to the small-scale producers.
The proposed project will catalyse the process of digitalization of agricultural financial services in Nepal and thereby provide small-scale farmers with modern financial services. This will help them recover and rehabilitate their enterprises and thereby restore livelihood sources and the initiatives undertaken will be dove-tailed and carried forward under VITA. Such an exit strategy will not only sustain benefits provided to the smallholder farmers but also help ADBL to modernise the financial services it provides and thereby strengthen its business model and enhance institutional sustainability. Most importantly, in the longer term the initiatives catalysed under the project and carried forward under VITA will contribute to substantially enhance the resilience of the small holders’ farmers in facing COVID-19 like crisis in future
Project Area
Project Image Gallery
Technical Workshop - VITA Project 
Rural poor stimulus fund - supporting covid-19 recovery through accelerated private investment in agriculture
Project Video Gallery
B2B interaction program between vegetables producer and Traders at Dhatiwang Arghakhanchi - RPSF/APIA
कृषिकर्जा लिन ठोस योजना र इच्छा शक्तिसहित कृषिमा लाग्नुपर्छ,अनिल कु. उपाध्याय, सिइओ कृषि विकास बैंक
Mukhiya Fish Farm Documentary
An agent of change,Mr. Boyalal Mukhiya who owns Mukhiya Fish Farm has come a long way to become a pioneer in commercial fish production. Mr. Mukhiya received support from Agricultural Development Bank Limited in the form of subsidized loan to expand his business. Mukhiya Fish Farm which has been providing employment to around 25 youth of the local community and has become a powerful tool of poverty reduction in the local area and is an inspiration for the youth seeking to earn their livelihood through agribusiness in Nepal.
D & D Bio Plantech Documentary
D & D Bio Plantechwhich is established and managed by Mr. Dilliraj Upreti and his wife Mrs. Diksha Upreti in Mechinagar, Jhapa has not only become a reputed nursery and fruit farm but also has become a symbol of togetherness for the couple. Dilliraj, who went to work in the Middle East spend 8 arduous years there returned to Nepal to start his own business and Agricultural Development Bank Limited supported him in his endeavors. Brimming with self-confidence and a zeal to succeed, Mr. Upreti even went against the conventional practice of growing watermelon on riverbanks and sandy land only. The Upreti couple is also an example of how agribusiness has the potential to replace foreign employment as a source of livelihood in Nepal.
Subham Agro Farm Documentary
Tikapur, a small town in Kailali the far western district of Nepal which is renowned for banana plantations is home to a young farmer named Mr. Tekendra Dhami, who grows banana on his plantation which is spread over 8 hectares of land. Besides cultivating banana on his land, Mr. Dhami also has a prosperous banana nursery business. A firm believer in innovation, he has introduced drip irrigation in banana farming in the area and is also a pioneer of tissue culture and the use of bio-fertilizers as the replacement of chemical fertilizers. Mr. Tekendra Dhami has received support from Agricultural Development Bank Limited to expand his commercial agriculture and Mr. Dhami's Subham Agro Farm has become a synonymous with how agriculture can be a lucrative career option and a source of employment for the locals.
S.K. Goat Farm Documentary
S.K. Goat Farm established by two brothers, Sandeep Khanal and Sanjay Khanal in Rupandehi District of Nepal is an example of how agriculture has become an attractive occupation for the youth. Mr. Sandeep, an IT engineer, quit his job to start S.K. Goat Farm and manages it and along with his brother Sanjay, who is a management graduate. The brother duo have even designed a website to provide remote business services besides technical services to farmers by linking them with highly qualified veterinary doctors. Pioneers in goat farming, they also introduced the innovative practice of feeding silage to the goats marking a move away from the traditional goad feeding practices. Their silage plant which was initially established to meet the needs of their own farm has grown to become one of Nepal's leading silage companies. Agricultural Development Bank Limited provided support to enable these brothers fulfill their dream of achieving synergy between innovation and technology to help agribusiness commercially viable.
Hari Agriculture and Livestock Center Documentary
Mr. Bhupendra Bhattarai started Hari Agriculture and Livestock center in 2018 as a traditional poultry farm. With support from his sons, Vivek and Hari, he has been able to use technology to reduce the cost of production and increase productivity. With the support from Agricultural Development Bank Limited, Mr. Bhupendra has expanded his poultry business to include pheasant, goats, local chicken, turkey and quail. Mr. Bhupendra has also started a restaurant which operates completely on local products to promote agro tourism. His agriculture and livestock center has been a model farm whose example can be replicated in any part of the country. Businesses of this kind with an assortment of agricultural activities have potential to boost agro tourism.
Panchadip Poultry Farm Pvt. Ltd.
Mr. Khambir Dhakal, who started Panchadip Poultry Farm with 500 layers of chickens in 1993, has now expanded it to 32 thousand layers. Adopting the concept of integrated value chain, he has also started a grinding mill, feed business and raises cattle and pigs. Mr. Dhakal's sons have also engaged themselves in the farm and have bought modernization and commercialization to the business started by their father. Agricultural Development Bank Limited provided support to expand his agribusiness. Panchadip Poultry Farm Pvt. Ltd. has been an example of how commercial agribusiness can be a lucrative career option.
Contact Details
PROJECT MANAGEMENT UNIT
AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT BANK LIMITED
PHONE: 01-4262929
Email: pmu.adbl@adbl.gov.np
Website: www.adbl.gov.np
