Directorate of Research and Extension (DoREX)

Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Livestock Systems

Project Title

Translating Science into Policy and Practice for the Development of the Livestock Sector in Nepal

Donor

USAID/ Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Livestock Systems (LSIL)

Type of project: Local Capacity Development (LCD)

Project budget: US$ 87,590

Project sites and stakeholders

The project involves national-level livestock stakeholders, including academia, research institutions, policymakers, extension agents, and the private sector. The piloting of small-scale LCD interventions, such as local-level workshops, takes place where LSIL Focus and Reach projects operate: Arghakhanchi, Banke, Bardiya, Dailekh, Doti, Kailali, Kapilvastu, Palpa, and Surkhet districts.

Project duration: 24 months (June 01, 2023 to May 31, 2025)

Project objectives

1. Strengthening the viable linkages among academic, research, and extension institutions working for the development of the livestock sector.
2. Developing the technical capacity and skills of the education, research, and extension professionals involved in the dairy and goat meat sub-sectors.

• Integrating entrepreneurship curricula in training major actors in the dairy and goat meat value chains.

1. Strengthening the institutional capacity of LSIL phase II stakeholders in promoting gender and youth inclusive research and policy translation in dairy and goat meat value The focus will be on integrating GESI considerations.

Project rationale

• There is an opportunity for increased adoption of improved production technologies and conduction of need-based (problem-oriented) scientific research in the dairy industry (mainly dairy and goat) in Nepal.
• The Nepalese dairy and goat sub-sectors face several challenges in production and Indeed, poor institutional linkages and ineffective coordination among education, research, and extension hinder the growth and development of the dairy and goat meat industries in Nepal.
• This project aims to contribute to developing the dairy and goat meat industries of Nepal through establishing and strengthening institutional linkages, sharing research agendas and findings with a goal of future collaboration, and developing the capacity of the major stakeholders to understand science and apply it in policy making and practice.

Major project interventions

• Strengthening a national-level research-industry-policy platform for bringing livestock-related research, education, industry, policymaking, and development institutions together.
• Conduction of multi-stakeholder workshops in three provinces (Lumbini Province, Karnali Province, and SudurPaschim Province) to strengthen the institutional linkages and build a network among major livestock stakeholders, including government institutions, academia, research stations, the private sector, farmers' associations, and I/NGOs at the local level.
• Development of a website (later integrated into AFU’s website) to share technical knowledge the project and other LSIL Phase I and Phase II projects' outputs.
• Development of directories (mappings) of major dairy and goat stakeholders working for the development of the dairy and goat industries in Nepal.
• Determination of the research priority areas in the livestock sector, mainly the dairy and goat sub-sectors.
• Development of two livestock economics-related courses, one for the bachelor’s (BSc) level (Livestock Entrepreneurship) and one for the master’s (MSc) level (Livestock Business Management and Planning).
• Professional development of the junior faculty of AFU and its constituent colleges through trainings and workshops.
• Professional development of graduate (PhD and MSc) students through trainings and
• Exposure visits of the project team to well-renowned enterprises and research stations in India (NDRI, AMUL, CIRG, Nimbkar Goat Farm).
• Development of the training curriculum and manuals, one for the dairy business and another for the breeding goat business model.
• Technical and financial support to MSc students (6) to conduct thesis/field research on issues related to gender and youth in small livestock value chains.
• Development and sharing of a policy brief for integrating gender and youth in livestock research, extension, and entrepreneurship

Expected outcomes

• Contribute to building a national stakeholder platform and strengthening the linkages among academic, research, and extension institutions working for the development of the livestock sector in the country.
• The research and publication capacity enhancement of the young faculty members will have a large impact on the quality of the research projects and teaching.
• A comprehensive list of research needs and priority areas in dairy and goat sub-

Project management