CIMMYT scientists plan to double the number of districts under the maize commercialisation model from three to six in 2023.
Experts at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) are working with partners to drive self-sufficiency in poultry feed and achieve more sustainable maize systems in Nepal with the help of the Nepal Seed and Fertilizer (NSAF) project.
About 3,000 metric tons of poultry feed is used in Nepal every day, with maize making up about half of feed ingredients. The Feed Association of Nepal estimates that more than 80 per cent of maize for animal feed requirements are met through imports, which costs around $100 million a year. Maize imports are estimated to exceed $130 million in 2022.
Through the NSAF project — a project which facilitates sustainable increases in Nepal’s national crop productivity, income and household-level food and nutrition security across 20 districts — CIMMYT scientists have been supporting public-private partnerships to increase commercial maize production and strengthen the ‘seed to feed’ chain in the country.
CIMMYT scientists plan to double the number of districts under the maize commercialisation model from three to six in 2023. The Department of Agriculture under the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, and the local and provincial governments are keen to scale out the model to several maize production regions of Nepal.
