Monsoon arrives in Kathmandu Valley today and farmers are celebrating Rice Plantation Day by actively showing saplings in their farmlands. Celebrating Dhan Diwas or Rice Plantation day, Alternate Energy Promotion Center, organised a discussion program today to show the integration of renewable energy in the agriculture sector to increase benefits from farming. 

 

The government of Nepal has prioritised agriculture sector as one of the national priority sectors and energy is one of the key drivers for increasing agri yield. There is the adoption of modern agricultural technologies such as efficient solar based irrigation techniques, and energy efficient mechanisation to increase productivity and resilience to climate change. 

 

Host of renewable energy experts, government officials and entrepreneurs discussed the introduction of solar dryers, solar thermal systems, the introduction of efficient solar cold chain management system to preserve fruits and the introduction of ripening technology instead of the use of carbide, was discussed to strengthen value chain of agriculture sector in Nepal. Entrepreneur shared their experiences on ways to strengthen the value chain from farm to fork. Ganesh Shah, former Minister of Science & Technology chaired the event.