The livestock sector in Nepal is a significant component of the country's economy, contributing to rural livelihoods and making up half of the agricultural GDP. Despite its importance, the sector has faced challenges such as lack of legal frameworks, inadequate resources, and insufficient veterinary services. Women play a crucial role in this industry but often face limited access to assets and decision-making opportunities.
To address these issues, the World Bank-backed Nepal Livestock Sector Innovation Project (NLSIP) supported the Nepalese government in implementing policies to enhance livestock productivity and resilience. The project introduced modern veterinary equipment and trained service providers while collaborating with 229 Farmers Field Schools to educate farmers on sustainable practices.
Efforts were made to modernize feed development and promote gender equity by involving women in farmer groups and training programs. This resulted in 58.88% female participation in Farmers Field Schools. The project also encouraged private sector growth through a unique matching grant model that facilitated credit access for farmers.
The NLSIP aligned with Nepal's Agricultural Development Strategy (2015-2035), focusing on governance, productivity, commercialization, and competitiveness. Despite pandemic-related setbacks, the project achieved notable outcomes from January 2018 to June 2024.
Key achievements include benefiting over 235,000 farmers—42% of whom are women—and increasing milk productivity by 80%. Sales values for milk and goat meat rose by 90%. The project helped formulate important policies like the National Animal Health Policy and contributed significantly to disease control through extensive vaccination programs.
Infrastructure improvements included building cold rooms capable of storing five million vaccine doses across seven provinces. During COVID-19, these facilities played a vital role due to their storage capacity for vaccines.
Genetic improvement efforts involved enhancing local breeding capabilities and importing bulls from the United States for semen production. Market linkages were strengthened with new infrastructures such as livestock markets and seed processing facilities. Notably, Nepal's first Pashmina Processing Center was established under this initiative.
Looking forward, further growth opportunities lie in addressing increased demand for livestock products and improving market access while ensuring robust animal health systems are in place. This approach will help tackle challenges related to food safety, climate change adaptation, exports, and pandemic prevention.
Local farmer Radhika Rai expressed how women's financial independence improved with employment opportunities provided by silage industries: "Women have also achieved financial freedom since the silage industry started... we have found employment here." Shiyaram Yadav from Birat Agro Farm highlighted technological advancements' impact: "Generator...and milking parlour provided by NLSIP have made our lives so much easier."