4-H  Nepal, in collaboration with partners, organized ‘The Asian Agriculture Summit and Exhibition-2019’ (ASSE) at Hotel Himalaya, Lalitpur from August 11–13, 2019.  The summit was organized with the motto of revitalizing Agri-youth entrepreneurship in Asia.

The summit aimed to promote sustainable agroecology by exchanging knowledge and experiences of young agro-entrepreneurs, building networks for collective progress, and obtaining valuable feedback and support from academics and policymakers. Youths from various parts of the country converged in Kathmandu and showcased their experiences, innovations, and visions; and discussed the policy environment that encouraged them in entrepreneurship.

The summit played a key role in establishing networks, platforms, and mechanisms for young entrepreneurs to collectively create a supportive environment in the field of agriculture. Approximately 100 participants took part in the three-day summit which included oral and poster sessions. The summit aimed to promote interaction among participants, and communications such as experience sharing, networking among experts, and stall exhibition.

Summit objectives

The objective of the conference was to bring youth entrepreneurs and policy-makers together in a common platform to discuss issues and challenges of youth participation in agriculture and enable the youth agro-entrepreneurial environment in Nepal.

The following are the major objectives of the summit:

• To bring youths, agro-entrepreneurs, experts, stakeholders, policymakers, leading agriculturists, and enthusiast participants together in a platform, for networking, experience sharing, paper presentation along discussion on thematic issues.
• To explore ways to foster youth agro entrepreneurship in Nepal.
• To re-energize the youth’s mind through motivational and brainstorming sessions.

The preparation of summit:

The following steps are taken for the preparation of the summit:

Consultation with organization

Proposal Development

Meeting with High-level advisor

High-level meeting with Ambassador

Committee Formed

Call for application

Call for papers

Call for volunteers

Program Formulation

Consultation with the organization:

The foremost step before preparing for the summit was consultation with the organization. Different governmental organizations supported The Asian Agriculture Summit and Exhibition directly; Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, the Ministry of Land Management Agriculture and Co-operative Province No. 3,  Kathmandu Metropolitan City, National Farmers Commission, Lalitpur Metropolitan City, Rastriya Badiya Bank, Nepal Tourism Board, FAO, and Khalti.

Proposal Development

Simply having a good idea isn’t enough to receive funding.  Good ideas become fundable once we have developed them into a comprehensive proposal.  The trick is putting your idea onto paper. A  concept paper can assist you in sculpting a comprehensive proposal.  Our concept paper is an outline of our project.  It provides the framework to guide discussions with potential partners, our sponsored programs office, and funding agency program officers.

Meeting with High-level Political Advisor:

1. Honourable Dr. Ram Baran Yadav is the first President of Nepal. During his presidency, he expressed his views on agriculture in the meeting. He also discussed rules and policies made during his ownership. Additionally, he took the initiative to make the Madeshi land self-reliant.”
2. Honorable Sher Bahadur Deuba is a former prime minister of Nepal. During his tenure, he expressed his views about farmer policy, agriculture issues, and the major solutions to overcome those issues in the meeting.
3. Honorable Purna Kuramri Subedi is the president of the Agriculture, Cooperatives, and Natural Resources Committee under the House of Representatives Nepal. During the meeting,  agriculture-related bills were discussed and she stated that she would take the initiative to pass those bills in new law.
4. The Honorable Chakrapani Khanal is the Minister of Agricultural and Livestock Development. He stated that organic and innovative projects are set to change the agriculture scenario in Nepal. He also mentioned, “Unless the country retains skilled youths in Nepal, the agriculture sector cannot be improved.”
5. Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat was the Finance Minister of Nepal. During the meeting, he led an interactive discussion on eco-agriculture, explaining the policy and providing valuable advice.

High-Level Meeting with Ambassador

1. H.E. Deputy Ambassador of Qatar: A high-level meeting was held at the Embassy of Kathmandu, Nepal on June 11, 2019. He assured cooperation and commitment to support The Asian Agriculture Summit & Expo 2019.
2. H.E. Elisabeth Von Capeller: An interactive meeting was held at the Embassy of Kathmandu, Nepal, on May 8, 2019, with H.E. Elisabeth Von Capeller, the Ambassador of Switzerland. The meeting focused on exploring opportunities for further cooperation between the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and 4-H Nepal.
3. H.E. Benny Omer: On May 26, 2019, an interactive meeting was held with Benny Omer Ambassador of the Embassy of Israel at the embassy of Kathmandu, Nepal.
4. H.E. Mr. Pertti Anttinen: H.E. Mr. Pertti, the Ambassador of Finland, conducted a meeting in Kathmandu, Nepal to discuss the Asian Agriculture Summit and Exhibition, which took place on May 17, 2019. During the meeting, opportunities for further cooperation on agriculture-related projects were explored.
5. Ishrant Tahan Director, SAARC: On May 31, 2019, a high-level meeting was held with Ishant Jahan, the Director of the SAARC Secretariat. The meeting provided an opportunity to discuss further cooperation on agriculture-related projects and more between the SAARC Secretariat and 4-H Nepal. Mr. Jahan has agreed to collaborate with 4-H Nepal and the SAARC Secretariat in the near future.
6. Dr Ajay Kumar, Deputy Chief of Mission at Embassy in India Kathmandu Nepal: On May 9, 2019, an interactive meeting was held with Dr. Ajay Kumar, a Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy in India Kathmandu Nepal. He is an Agro-scientist.
7. Utoomporn Ampaivit, Counselor of the Royal Thai Embassy in Nepal: Utoomporn Ampaivit is the Minister and Counselor of the Royal Thai Embassy in Nepal. 4-H Nepal had an interactive meeting with her on April 26, 2019, at Kathmandu Nepal.

Participation

The conference brought together over 130 participants from various countries such as Ghana, China, The Philippines, The Gambia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Iran, Nepal, India, the UK and Ireland.

Target audience

The audience for the summit included government officials from the various related government departments and government-linked organizations, farmers, youth entrepreneurs, associations, agriculture industry representatives and food processors, Academics (e.g. universities, colleges, and researchers), traders and retailers, as well as officials and students from institutions of higher learning and representatives of non-government organizations around the world.

AASE will contribute to the cause of agricultural intervention and sustainable growth, where youths will be at the forefront of change in local communities and globally.