This site uses cookies, as explained in our terms of use. If you consent, please close this message and continue to use this site.
This press statement is prepared for release after the agreement signing between Surketham Dairy Cooperative Limited (SDCL), Nepal Dairy Pvt. Ltd. (NDPL), and ICIMOD on 23 March 2022, Wednesday.
1 min Read
On 23 March 2022, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Surketham Dairy Cooperative Limited (SDCL), and Nepal Dairy Pvt. Ltd (NDPL) signed a tripartite agreement to promote yak dairy enterprise that can sustain the age-old yak herding culture in the highlands of Eastern Nepal.
The initiative aims to develop a viable yak-based business model to generate attractive and sustainable employment opportunities for rural youth in the Kangchenjunga Landscape of Nepal. Pema Gyamtsho, Director General, ICIMOD, Heramba B. Rajbhandary, Executive Chairman, NDPL, and Maita Bahadur Libang, Chairperson, SDCL signed the LoI.
Challenges imposed by climate change and socioeconomic drivers have reduced interest in yak herding. In 2009, the Surketham Dairy Cooperative Limited, an institution formed by the yak and cattle farmers in Panchthar district, Nepal, ventured into yak dairy processing. The cooperative, however, has not been able to succeed due to its limited capacity to link up with the markets.
Motivated by the mission to save yaks and yak farming culture from extinction and showcase their economic viability, the Kangchenjunga Landscape Conservation and Development Initiative (KLCDI) under ICIMOD approached NDPL for a partnership in processing, product diversification, and market linkages for yak products. This partnership is expected to deliver a successful model of yak-based enterprise to attract and engage youth in the landscape to sustain the yak herding culture.
For more information, please contact
Anshu Pandey
Media Associate
media@icimod.org
Mobile: +977 9849920539
Share
Stay up to date on what’s happening around the HKH with our most recent publications and find out how you can help by subscribing to our mailing list.
Kathmandu, 28 September 2024 – Much of Kathmandu stands underwater today and the capital’s main river, the Bagmati, is flowing ...
REYKJAVÍK, ICELAND, 29 October 2025 – Climate and environmental change are having disproportionate negative effects on the world’s young people, ...
Earlier, at the inaugural session of the orientation workshop, David Molden, Director General of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain ...
Participants at the meeting of the parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity emphasize the need for sharing ...
Kathmandu, 27 November 2024 – The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) today signed a ...
Kathmandu, Nepal | 12 February, 2026 With air quality beginning to plummet in the Kathmandu valley at the onset of winter, ...
Kathmandu, 10 August 2026 – Across Nepal’s high mountain regions, many families still rely on firewood and other biomass fuels ...
Forty-seven young professionals convened at the headquarters of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in Kathmandu, Nepal ...
