Agriculture and livestock sectors contribute about 27% to the GDP engaging 60.4% of the population. Being a key sector for inclusive economic development, it is imperative to transform the Nepalese agriculture by improving agricultural production and productivity. The Constitution of Nepal has enshrined the right to food as one of the fundamental rights. It shows the need to be self-reliant in essential food products such as cereals, fruits, meat and dairy products. 

Ministry of Land Management, Agriculture, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation, Gandaki Province provided three days training  on 'Agriculture Development Planning, Database Management and Farmers' Registration Software' between 31st August to 2nd August  at Agriculture Knowledge Center, Tanahun to agriculture officer and technicians from all the local province of Tanahun district. I participated  in the training as the agriculture officer representing Vyas municipality. The training was mainly focused on the agriculture development strategy (ADS) which was implemented in Nepal in 2015 for 20 years for the development of agriculture, planning and implementation of agriculture programs and procedure of farmer registration. 

Agriculture is the mainstay of livelihoods in the majority of the municipalities in Nepal. But annual programs and budgets of the municipalities most often put less emphasis on this sector, which is reflected through a smaller share of budget allocation as well. In this context, this session deals with very important topics and is expected to set the background for making the participants think through the need of focusing on agriculture development planning in a more systematic way.