Women farmers and sustainable mechanization: Improving lives and livelihoods in the Hindu Kush Himalaya

Register Download flyer

Following Episode I: The Nepal Chapter and Episode II: The Bhutan Chapter, the RMS webinar series presents Episode III: The role of private sector in agri-mechanization.

About Episode III

The role of private sector in agri-mechanization

The mechanization pathway adopted by developing countries mainly focused on promoting industrial agriculture using power-operated heavy machines based on transfer of technology from developed countries. This approach favoured the flatlands and neglected the needs of the small holder farms in the hills and mountains. The Nepal and the Bhutan episodes of the webinar series highlighted the emerging socially responsible and innovative import, marketing and supply sectors in both the countries that could address this neglect.

The third webinar of the series aims to critically discuss alternative pathways to agricultural mechanization innovation, powered by local manufacturers and entrepreneurs, and the development of scale-appropriate machines and tools suitable for sustainable development of hill and mountain farming systems. A responsible, innovative, and organized private sector can offer competitively priced and scale-appropriate machine and equipment that aids in the national mechanization process and meets the needs of farmers (including women farmers) in the HKH region.

In this context, the webinar will focus on two key areas where the private sector can play a major role in agricultural mechanization. These are (i) supporting sustainable markets for manufacturing, supplying and importing of machine, equipment and spare parts; (ii) provision of mechanization hire services.

Objectives

• Share lessons learned from projects, programmes, and policies focusing on agricultural mechanization for women in the HKH
• Showcase successful examples and solutions of agricultural mechanization used in the HKH
• Identify key actionable solutions and approaches to promote agricultural mechanization in the HKH

The webinar series

Through the webinar series, ICIMOD and FAO expect to create awareness and action around current mechanization gaps and help identify good practices and possible solutions for empowering women farmers in the region. The webinar series will discuss strategies contributing to the process of mainstreaming and institutionalizing successful efforts of agricultural mechanization for improving productivity while also reducing drudgery for women farmers.

Each webinar will conclude with a call for action to align policy with practice to leverage technology to address the constraints and solutions that women farmers face for sustainable, efficient, and profitable farming.

The first webinar of this series, Episode I: The Nepal Chapter was organized on 5 March 2021 followed by Episode II: The Bhutan Chapter organized on 7 May 2021.

Agenda

27 August 2021 | 14:30–16:45 (Nepal Standard Time)

Moderator: Mayling Flores Rojas, Agricultural Mechanization Systems Officer, FAO