Dhangadhi, Kailali - A programme held in Dhangadhi, the provincial capital of Sudurpashchim Province, has stressed the need to strengthen coordination among all three tiers of government, the insurance authority, insurance companies and farmers to make agriculture, livestock and herbal insurance schemes effective, and to widen their reach across the Far West. The event was organised by the federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forests and Environment with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and was coordinated by the province's Ministry of Land Management, Agriculture and Cooperatives. Those who took part used the Dhangadhi platform to call for expanding access to the insurance programmes so that a larger share of the province's farming households can come under their protection.

A shared call for coordination

The dominant theme of the programme was that agricultural, livestock and herbal insurance can deliver results only when the institutions behind them work together rather than in isolation. Participants stressed the need for coordinated effort among the federal government, the provincial government and local governments, the three tiers that share responsibility for the agriculture sector, alongside the insurance authority, insurance companies and the farmers themselves.

The appeal was directed at every link in the chain. Policymakers, regulators, insurers and farmer communities were all named as parties whose combined effort is required if the schemes are to function as intended. By placing the three tiers of government on the same list as the insurance authority, insurance companies and farmers, the programme framed insurance not as the concern of a single agency but as a shared responsibility spanning the entire system.

The gathering in Dhangadhi was the venue where this message was spelled out, with the organisers underlining that the schemes can become genuinely effective only when coordination among these actors is strengthened rather than left loose.

Making agriculture, livestock and herbal insurance work

The programme focused on three strands of coverage: agriculture insurance, livestock insurance and herbal insurance. Together, these schemes are intended to give farmers a cushion against the risks associated with crop farming, animal rearing and herb cultivation, sectors that expose households to losses that can be difficult to absorb without protection.

Participants emphasised that the effectiveness of these schemes depends on the very coordination the programme highlighted. When the three tiers of government, the insurance authority and insurance companies operate in step, schemes are better placed to reach the farmers they are designed for. Where that coordination is weak, the benefits of insurance can remain on paper rather than translating into protection on the ground.

The organisers and supporters of the event, including the federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forests and Environment and UNDP, used the platform to reinforce this point, presenting the strengthening of coordination as a precondition for the schemes to serve their purpose in the province.

Key messages from the programme

The central points emphasised at the Dhangadhi event can be summarised as follows:

  • Strengthen coordination among the federal, provincial and local governments, the insurance authority, insurance companies and farmers.
  • Make agriculture, livestock and herbal insurance schemes effective in practice, not only in design.
  • Expand the reach of these insurance programmes across Sudurpashchim Province so that more farmers can access them.

Expanding access across the province

Alongside effectiveness, expansion emerged as the second headline demand of the gathering. Participants called for the reach of agriculture, livestock and herbal insurance to be extended across Sudurpashchim Province, arguing that access to the schemes should widen beyond their current footprint.

The call reflects the purpose for which the programme was convened: to put the question of insurance access on the agenda in the Far West and to build support for taking the schemes to more of the province's farmers. The emphasis on expansion came from the participants themselves, who urged that the programmes be taken across the province rather than confined to limited pockets.

Dhangadhi, in Kailali district, served as the setting for this appeal, bringing together the government bodies, the insurance authority, insurers and farmers whose combined effort participants said is needed to carry the schemes further.

Who organised and backed the event

The programme was organised by the federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forests and Environment, with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Coordination of the event was handled by the province's Ministry of Land Management, Agriculture and Cooperatives, placing the provincial agriculture ministry at the centre of the effort alongside its federal counterpart and the international development partner.

The event and its key messages were reported by Nepal Press, RatoPati and Khabarhub, all of which highlighted the emphasis placed on expanding access to agricultural and livestock insurance in the Far West.

The road ahead

The programme closed with a clear and consistent message: making agriculture, livestock and herbal insurance effective is a task that no single institution can accomplish alone. The combination of the three tiers of government, the insurance authority, insurance companies and farmers was presented as the working formula on which the schemes depend.

The second half of that message concerned scale. The participants' call to expand the reach of the insurance programmes across Sudurpashchim Province sets a direction for the ministries, the authority and the insurers involved, all of whom were part of the conversation in Dhangadhi. With the federal ministry, UNDP and the provincial Ministry of Land Management, Agriculture and Cooperatives jointly behind the event, the push for wider and more effective insurance access in the Far West now carries the backing of the government bodies and partners who gathered to make that case.