Page 13 - Dairy Dimension - Jan

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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.
Ms. Neena Joshi 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
Heifer International 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
Ms. Neena Joshi is a seasoned leader with more than two decades of
experience driving entrepreneurship and economic empowerment for force, is crucial to the country's economy. However, access, and financial inclusion, particularly for women.
smallholder farmers, especially women and youth, across developing Asian challenges like caste-based discrimination, gender With an emphasis on sustainable farming,
economies. As the Senior Vice President of Asia Programs at Heifer inequality, small landholdings, inadequate irrigation, and environmental stewardship, and gender equity, these
International, Neena leads transformative initiatives that build inclusive the impacts of climate change continue to hinder programs create long-term, positive impacts for rural
agrifood systems, promote regenerative agriculture, and foster sustainability, progress. communities.
all aimed at improving the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of As of FY 2024, Heifer Nepal has supported 400,000 One of the biggest challenges for smallholder
smallholder farmers.
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
Balancing Intensive and 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.
Sustainable Farming: A Path 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
towards Global Food Security 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.
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 group savings and lending empowers them to invest in Heifer International in Asia addresses this by
farmers in it? understanding of local ecosystems and ability to adopt livestock and agricultural enterprises, improving strengthening inclusive value chains that integrate
household incomes.
Sustainable farming is an agricultural approach that regenerative or natural practices make them ideal smallholders into formalized market systems. We
balances food production with preserving natural stewards of sustainable farming methods. As a result of economic empowerment, women's facilitate farmers to access resources, technology, and
resources, mitigating the impacts of climate change, At Heifer International, we collaborate closely with decision-making power has increased within families and networks essential for competing in today's economy.
and securing food and nutritional needs for future smallholder farmers in Asia to equip them with the communities, challenging traditional gender roles and We provide training in production and business skills,
generations. At its core, sustainable farming is about tools, knowledge, and resources needed to transition promoting gender equity. As women's incomes rise, they strengthen value chains through infrastructure
creating systems that meet the growing food and to sustainable farming systems. Our 'Caring for the invest in education, healthcare, and community investments, and ensure access to financial services like
development, creating a ripple effect that benefits entire
nutritional demands of today and tomorrow while Earth' approach anchors climate-smart, micro-loans and insurance.
delivering positive outcomes for people, profit, and the environmentally friendly practices in our programs, communities. Central to this approach is the formation of locally-led
planet. Core practices include regenerative agriculture, reaching millions of farmers annually. We support In addition to our grassroots work, Heifer has forged self-help groups and cooperatives. These collectives
farm waste management, water conservation, smallholder farmers to sustainably improve their partnerships with the government of Nepal to ensure empower farmers, especially women and youth, by
integrated pest management, and biodiversity livelihoods while enhancing economic and climate the sustainability of its programs. We advocate for better creating platforms for knowledge sharing, financial
enhancement. resilience thereby boosting food production, enriching policies, fair market prices, and sustainable food systems training, and access to finance and markets. Working
Smallholder farmers, especially in Asia, play a pivotal soil, preserving ecosystems, and reducing waste. for smallholder farmers. By collaborating with collectively allows farmers to achieve economies of scale,
role in sustainable farming. As the backbone of government bodies, local NGOs, and the private sector,

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