Back to news
27 Mar 2015 | News

Mobile based Crop Advisory System for Nepal

2 mins Read

70% Complete

Experts from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and the Government of Nepal came together to brainstorm on the prospects and challenges in developing a mobile-based crop advisory system in Nepal on 12 March 2015. Participants included representatives of the Ministry of Agricultural Development (MoAD), Planning Commission, Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, Agricultural Environment Research Division, World Food Programme (WFP), and Kathmandu University (KU), as well as telecom operators and private sector. A representative from Reuters Market Light (RML), an Indian company that has pioneered a similar initiative in India on a larger scale, also attended the workshop.

Speaking at the opening session, Dr David Molden, ICIMOD’s Director General, said, “Over 70 percent of the total population of Nepal is involved in agriculture. Delivering essential information to farmers in time can help reduce the impact of the rapidly changing climatic conditions on their farmlands.” Highlighting the importance of early warning system in the event of disaster, Dinesh Prasad Parajuli, Joint Secretary of MoAD, talked about the after effects of cyclone Hudhud in Surkhet district in western Nepal in October 2014. He said, “The place experienced extreme weather conditions such as snowfall in spring time. Livestock were seen eating their own faeces.” He said that an early warning system could save farmers from incurring crop losses and other damages in the face of such disaster.

 

The crop advisory system aims to work as a two-way system that delivers crucial information to farmers as well as receives information from them, which can then be shared with concerned stakeholders.

The workshop focused on three key issues related to developing a mobile-based crop advisory system in Nepal: possibilities and challenges of integrating the new system into existing systems; content required by users; and supporting technologies. The mobile-based crop advisory system can generate information on weather forecast, crop season, best farming practices, local crops, agricultural market prices and arrivals, availability of fertilizers, electricity timings, early warning systems on disasters, training opportunities, government schemes, plant and veterinary disease prevention, and financing and insurance services. Such information can help farmers make timely decisions regarding their land and crops.

The drought monitoring system that is being developed by ICIMOD under the SERVIR-Himalaya initiative will provide long-term and short-term information on drought events. The mobile based crop advisory system can take this monitoring system to the local level with the integration of ICT tools.

At the closing session, Dr Eklabya Shrama, ICIMOD’s Director of Programme Operations, stressed the role of information in the changing cropping systems. He said that the advisory system needs to be context-specific and should address the specificities brought by change in altitude and latitude. Birendra Bajracharya, ICIMOD’s Regional Programme Manager for Mountain Environment Regional Information System (MENRIS), mentioned how the SERVIR programme uses satellite imageries to support decision making.

The brainstorming workshop was jointly organized by MOAD, WFP – Nepal and ICIMOD.

Stay current

Stay up to date on what’s happening around the HKH with our most recent publications and find out how you can help by subscribing to our mailing list.

Sign Up

related contents

Continue exploring this topic

22 Sep 2015 News
Policy conference supports action on adaptation

Experts working across the Indus River Basin came together during a ...

19 Jun 2018 Cryosphere
Institutional Recognition for Promoting Women in Glaciology Research in the HKH

Since its inception in 2011, the Cryosphere Initiative at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) has made a ...

28 Mar 2016 News
Pakistani Delegates Visit CBFEWS Pilot Site in Ratu Khola

Exploring the different types of flood early warning systems in flood prone areas of Pakistan, three delegates from Pakistan visited ...

12 Apr 2018 News
AGORA Workshop in Nepal (29 -30 March, 2018)

Introduction The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United ...

2 Apr 2015 News
Maximizing Rural Value Chains in Myanmar

In March, ICIMOD and the Myanmar Institute for Integrated Development (MIID) conducted a ...

13 Mar 2018 Gender in Koshi
Juggling ‘two fronts’ – the women of today

Women are increasingly getting an education in underdeveloped/developing countries, despite this by no means being the norm (for example, according ...

12 Jul 2016 News
HIMAP Author Writeshop Held

HIMAP Author Writeshop Held Hindu Kush Himalayas Monitoring and Assessment Program’s (HIMAP) Coordinating Lead Authors' Writeshop was organised by the ...

Cross learning within the HKH: women restore barren land in Passu Valley with sea buckthorn

Process The Passu valley was once bountiful. The Khunjerab and Shimshal rivers gradually eroded their banks, posing a very real threat ...