- Japan signed a $43,175 grant agreement with LEADS Nepal to upgrade a ginger and timur processing center in Myagdi district.
- The facility will benefit 600 women farmers by providing equipment to produce higher-value agricultural goods and improve their earnings.
- The initiative, funded under Japan’s GGP scheme, coincides with the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Japan and Nepal.
Kathmandu, Nepal: Japan will provide a grant of US$43,175 to help build and upgrade a ginger and timur processing center in Myagdi district.
Japanese Ambassador to Nepal MAEDA Toru and Padam Raj Shrestha, executive director of Livelihood Education and Development Society Nepal (LEADS Nepal), signed the grant agreement at the Embassy of Japan in Kathmandu on Monday.
The grant, equivalent to about Rs. 6.6 million, is being provided under the Japanese government’s Grant Assistance for Grassroots Projects (GGP). LEADS Nepal will implement the project.
The processing center will serve a women farmers’ cooperative in Beni Municipality, which has about 600 women farmers. Many of the cooperative members depend on farming for their livelihoods.
Ginger and timur are among the agricultural products produced in Myagdi and are sold as sources of household income. Farmers, however, have limited access to processing facilities and equipment needed to turn the raw products into higher-value goods.
The Japanese-funded project will involve construction and renovation of processing facilities and the installation of new equipment. The changes are intended to make processing easier and improve the quality of ginger and timur products.
The project is expected to give farmers more opportunities to process and sell their produce at better prices, which could increase their earnings.
LEADS Nepal has been working with communities in Myagdi on livelihood and rural development activities.
The Japanese Embassy said the project is intended to support rural communities and increase women’s economic participation.
The agreement was signed in the year marking the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Japan and Nepal. Japan and Nepal established diplomatic relations in 1956.
