Commercial Agriculture Alliance’s (CAA’s) Staff Level Training, ADB Grant No. 0063-NEP (SF)

Project Description

Agriculture continues to be a fundamental instrument for sustainable development and poverty reduction in Nepal; with majority of the population living in rural areas, 30.4 percent living below the poverty line and about 76 percent of the agriculture population; agriculture is the main source of livelihoods. Given where they are and what they do best, promoting agriculture is imperative for meeting the Millennium Development Goal of halving poverty and hunger by 2015 and continuing to reduce poverty and hunger for several decades thereafter. Government of Nepal with the grant assistance from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is implementing Commercial Agriculture Development Project to address the issues of livelihood and poverty by promoting and linking Nepalese agriculture to national and international market. Commercial Agriculture Development Project is in operation since August 2007. Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives is the Executing Agency and Department of Agriculture is Implementing Agency. The project covers 11 districts of the EDR. The overall goal of the project is to reduce poverty by increasing (i) employment opportunities in rural areas, (ii) value added of agriculture product, and (iii) rural income.

The purpose of this assignment was to upgrade the understanding, knowledge and skill (Project management and implementation under CADP) of the staffs of Commercial Agriculture Alliance (CAA).

Assignment Description

The objective of this program was to design and conduct a seven days orientation training program to newly recruited CAA staff with a view to acquaint the trainees with CADP concept, approach, strategies and program. The training was attended by 52 participants (44 trainees from CAA district office and the remaining were from PMU and CAA head office). The 7 days training module was developed based on the need as perceived by the Client and which was later discussed and matched with the trainee's need through expectation matching process. The training course included relevant topics/subjects like project management, project appraisal, budgeting and planning, credit and finance, value chain, agriculture commercialization, social inclusion, and other related subjects. Following were the major tasks undertaken by the consultants: • Review of project related documents • Development of training course • Conduction of training • Reporting