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| Volume 1 | Issue 2 | Jan-Feb 2025 INTERVIEW
Ms. Neena Joshi
Heifer International
Ms. Neena Joshi is a seasoned leader with more than two decades of
experience driving entrepreneurship and economic empowerment for
smallholder farmers, especially women and youth, across developing Asian
economies. As the Senior Vice President of Asia Programs at Heifer
International, Neena leads transformative initiatives that build inclusive
agrifood systems, promote regenerative agriculture, and foster sustainability,
all aimed at improving the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of
smallholder farmers.
Balancing Intensive and
Sustainable Farming: A Path
towards Global Food Security
Could you please explain the concept of agricultural production, they significantly contribute to
sustainable farming and the role of smallholder food security and rural economies. Their deep
farmers in it? understanding of local ecosystems and ability to adopt
Sustainable farming is an agricultural approach that regenerative or natural practices make them ideal
balances food production with preserving natural stewards of sustainable farming methods.
resources, mitigating the impacts of climate change, At Heifer International, we collaborate closely with
and securing food and nutritional needs for future smallholder farmers in Asia to equip them with the
generations. At its core, sustainable farming is about tools, knowledge, and resources needed to transition
creating systems that meet the growing food and to sustainable farming systems. Our 'Caring for the
nutritional demands of today and tomorrow while Earth' approach anchors climate-smart,
delivering positive outcomes for people, profit, and the environmentally friendly practices in our programs,
planet. Core practices include regenerative agriculture, reaching millions of farmers annually. We support
farm waste management, water conservation, smallholder farmers to sustainably improve their
integrated pest management, and biodiversity livelihoods while enhancing economic and climate
enhancement. resilience thereby boosting food production, enriching
Smallholder farmers, especially in Asia, play a pivotal soil, preserving ecosystems, and reducing waste.
role in sustainable farming. As the backbone of
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| Volume 1 | Issue 2 | Jan-Feb 2025
Heifer International has been working in Nepal for we help create an enabling environment for long-term
over two decades. Could you share the impact of its growth and prosperity, ensuring smallholder farmers
projects and the changes the organization has have access to the support and opportunities they need
brought to farmers' lives? to thrive.
Heifer International has been working in Nepal for over Heifer Nepal's programs—such as The Milky Way,
two decades, promoting resilience and sustainable
Strengthening Smallholder Livestock Value Chains, and
development in rural communities. Agriculture, which Value Chains for Inclusive Transformation of
supports nearly 80% of households and 66% of the labor Agriculture—focus on improving technical skills, market
force, is crucial to the country's economy. However, access, and financial inclusion, particularly for women.
challenges like caste-based discrimination, gender With an emphasis on sustainable farming,
inequality, small landholdings, inadequate irrigation, and environmental stewardship, and gender equity, these
the impacts of climate change continue to hinder programs create long-term, positive impacts for rural
progress. communities.
As of FY 2024, Heifer Nepal has supported 400,000 One of the biggest challenges for smallholder
smallholder farmers, forming 295 cooperatives. Our farmers is securing a fair price and finding markets
Values-Based Holistic Community Development model for their produce. What is Heifer International doing
fosters total community transformation, not just to support them in this regard?
livelihood improvements. Through Heifer's 12 Smallholder farmers face significant challenges in
Cornerstones for Just and Sustainable Development, we securing fair prices and reliable markets for their
help communities empower themselves to build values produce. With limited access to market information,
like sharing and caring, accountability, and justice. These inadequate bargaining power, and the dominance of
trainings help women gain leadership skills, build intermediaries, many farmers are forced to sell at prices
confidence, and emerge as decision-makers, leaders in far below the true value of their goods.
self-help groups, cooperatives and communities, and
Compounding these issues are systemic barriers, such
contributors to community development.
Women, who make up 95% of our program participants, as insufficient infrastructure, fragmented supply chains,
and a lack of supportive policies, which further isolate
play a critical role in agriculture. Heifer's approach
smallholders from formalized markets. Besides, access
promotes women's leadership in cooperatives, to finance also remains a critical barrier to establishingor
strengthening community structures and enabling
expanding agricultural enterprises. These challenges not
collective action on issues like environmental only hinder their ability to earn a sustainable income but
degradation, water scarcity, disease control, access to also perpetuate cycles of poverty and inequality in rural
finance and market access. Women's involvement in communities.
group savings and lending empowers them to invest in Heifer International in Asia addresses this by
livestock and agricultural enterprises, improving strengthening inclusive value chains that integrate
household incomes.
smallholders into formalized market systems. We
As a result of economic empowerment, women's facilitate farmers to access resources, technology, and
decision-making power has increased within families and networks essential for competing in today's economy.
communities, challenging traditional gender roles and We provide training in production and business skills,
promoting gender equity. As women's incomes rise, they strengthen value chains through infrastructure
invest in education, healthcare, and community investments, and ensure access to financial services like
development, creating a ripple effect that benefits entire
micro-loans and insurance.
communities. Central to this approach is the formation of locally-led
In addition to our grassroots work, Heifer has forged self-help groups and cooperatives. These collectives
partnerships with the government of Nepal to ensure empower farmers, especially women and youth, by
the sustainability of its programs. We advocate for better creating platforms for knowledge sharing, financial
policies, fair market prices, and sustainable food systems training, and access to finance and markets. Working
for smallholder farmers. By collaborating with collectively allows farmers to achieve economies of scale,
government bodies, local NGOs, and the private sector,
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