Project steering committee meeting on pilot on climate services in the agriculture sector in Chitwan, Nepal

About the meeting

The second Project Steering Committee (PSC) meeting will bring together relevant stakeholders to present progress and discuss activities of the pilot project on localizing climate services in Chitwan, Nepal focusing on the agriculture sector. The event will also launch the digital agromet advisory dashboard co-developed by the Agriculture Knowledge Centre (AKC) Chitwan and ICIMOD.

Objectives

Present progress and discuss project activities for smooth implementation
Launch the digital agromet advisory dashboard
Demonstration and familiarization of the dashboard

Expected participants

The meeting will bring together members of the PSC, experts from AKC Chitwan, ICIMOD, FORWARD Nepal, Intrepid Nepal Pvt. Ltd, agriculture extension officers from relevant palikas (rural and urban municipalities), and government officials from the local administration.

Background

Our Climate Services Initiative is implementing a pilot project on localizing climate services in Chitwan, Nepal, primarily focusing on agriculture and tourism. Funded through UK Aid, the pilot is implemented over a two-year period ending in March 2022. The pilot aims to improve livelihoods and enhance resilience of people in the agriculture and tourism sectors through reduced risks and vulnerabilities with the use of climate information services. The targeted outcome is the improved capacity of local institutions in Chitwan to integrate climate information services in their decision making and having in place a user driven climate service information system and user interface platform.

Building on earlier efforts at strengthening agromet advisories in Nepal, we are collaborating with AKC Chitwan to further enrich agromet advisories, make them more relevant to famers’ needs and deliver them in a timely manner. At the local level, FORWARD Nepal is implementing the pilot with technical support from ICIMOD and AKC Chitwan to improve the capacity of local institutions, extension workers and farmers in Chitwan district to integrate climate information services in their decision making.

The PSC comprising government representatives and technical experts was formed to guide project implementation and provide insights to improve implementation. The first PSC meeting was held in August 2021.

Tentative agenda

Monday, 15 November 2021

Facilitator: AKC Chitwan

Time (in NPT)	Session	Resource person/s
Chairperson: District Coordination Committee (DCC) Chief, Chitwan
10:30–10:40	Welcome remarks	AKC Chitwan
10:40–10:50	Objectives of the meeting	Mandira Singh Shrestha, Programme Coordinator – Climate Services, ICIMOD
10:50–11:00	Progress	FORWARD Nepal
11:00–11:15	Overview of the digital agromet advisory dashboard with key components	Faisal Mueen Qamer, Remote Sensing Specialist, ICIMOD
11:15–11:40	Demonstration of the dashboard	Intrepid Nepal
11:30–11:50	Baseline study results	FORWARD Nepal
11:50–12:20	Interaction
12:20–12:30	Remarks by the Chairperson
12:30–13:30	Lunch
14:00–16:00	Technical details of dashboard for handover	AKC Chitwan, Intrepid Nepal and ICIMOD

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