Officiating CEO of the ADBL, Upendra Bahadur Karki and Israeli Ambassador to Nepal, Hanan Goder signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organizations in Kathmandu.[break]
The MoU was first signed in August 2008 for a three-year period. This year it was extended for only one year as the Israeli government is planning to add more “practical programs” in the project. “After we finalize the programs, we will sign another agreement next year,” Goder told a press conference Wednesday.
Currently, the program has been limited to providing capacity building training to small entrepreneurs and employees of the ADBL. Since the signing of the agreement in 2008, a total of 140 people, including entrepreneurs and ADBL employees, have attended capacity building training in Israel and Nepal.
“Nepalis who have attended training programs in Israel have benefited a lot as these visits give them an opportunity to exchange information and ideas with entrepreneurs and officials of Israel,” according to Karki. This allows them to import best practices to Nepal, Karki said.
For instance, few Nepali poultry farmers, who visited Israel under the project, are now using the technology and techniques used in the country. “This has enhanced the efficiency of these firms,” Karki told the press conference.
Israeli Ambassador Goder told the press conference that efficiency is the key to survival in a competitive environment. “Without being efficient one cannot compete,” he said, citing Israel´s agricultural sector as one of the most efficient in the world.
Israel is a country where only 3-4 percent of the population is involved in agricultural sector. But even this small group is able to feed the entire nation as well as export the products abroad.
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