The government of Nepal and the Asian Development Bank have agreed to make financial investments for the improvement of walnut and fruit varieties in the hilly areas of Nepal.
A financial investment agreement was signed between Finance Secretary Krishnahari Pushkar and Asian Development Bank Country Director for Nepal Arnaud Koukwiis for the improvement of walnut and fruit varieties cultivation in the hilly areas of Nepal at the agreement program held at the Ministry of Finance on Monday.
According to the agreement with the Asian Development Bank, the bank will provide about 7.79 billion concessional loans from ordinary capital revision and about 1.30 billion rupees in grants from the Asian Fund. For the project, it is mentioned in the agreement that the bank will spend 1.17 billion rupees from the global agriculture and food security program and the government of Nepal will invest about 1.88 billion rupees.
About 30,000 households in Province 1, Bagmati, Gandaki, Karnali, and Sudurpaschim provinces will benefit from the walnut and fruit cultivation improvement project. It has been agreed that climate-tolerant walnut and fruit plants will be planted in 10,000 hectares of mountainous areas in Nepal.
While speaking at the signing event, Finance Secretary Krishnahari Puskar said that the Asian Development Bank has been providing continuous support in the past and expects more support. He also said that the necessary concessional loan process for the improvement of walnut and fruit species cultivation in the hilly areas of Nepal will be started soon.
