Israeli Ambassador Bass visits model farm in Dhading

KATHMANDU: Ambassador of Israel to Nepal, Shmulik A. Bass, along with officials from Nepal’s Ministry of Finance and Sana Kisan Bikas Laghubitta Bittiyasanstha (SKBBL), visited an agricultural farm in Jeevanpur, Dhading.

The team reached the farm of Youddha Prasad Neupane, a prominent Israel returnee student and agripreneur, on February 16 (Sunday).

The visit offered firsthand insights into Neupane’s journey, challenges and best practices in agribusiness enterprise using Israeli Agro-technologies, stated a release issued by the Embassy.

Neupane is an alumnus of the Learn and Earn Program, 2013-2014 batch of Arava International Center for Agriculture Training (AICAT), Israel.

He has significantly expanded his farm after returning from Israel and has successfully applied Israeli Agricultural technologies- including drip-irrigation with automation, fertigation system, mulching techniques, and high-tech nursery.Notably, he invests only 20% of his income in Israeli technology while achieving remarkable results.

Farmers from neighboring areas are learning from his techniques, and he continues to inspire the local agricultural community, reads the release.

The visit underscores the strong agricultural cooperation between Nepal and Israel and highlights the success of Learn and Earn Programs in empowering Nepali farmers with innovative and modern farming techniques.

More than four thousand students from farming families, associated with SKBBL and other institutions, have been trained in Israel under the Learn and Earn Program in modern agriculture since 2001.

Youddha Prasad Neupane was also declared the 2nd Krishi Tara winner and awarded with a cheque of Rs 500,000 along with the winner’s certificate.