Together for climate-resilient agriculture

Nepal has merged its Ministry of Agriculture Development (MoAD) and Ministry of Forests and Environment (MoFE) into a new entity, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forests and Environment (MoAFE). This significant administrative restructuring, driven by the need to reduce the state's financial burden and enhance administrative efficiency, also presents a crucial opportunity to address the escalating threat of climate change to the nation's agriculture.

The rationale for integrating agricultural and forestry institutions dates back to the early 1990s, proposed by the late Minister Shailaja Acharya. The understanding then was that the boundaries between agriculture and forests are often blurred at the farmer level, necessitating integrated management for sustainable development. However, institutional and administrative hurdles delayed this integration for decades until now. The merger arrives at a critical juncture, with climate change posing a serious risk to agricultural productivity.

While fiscal savings and administrative efficiency were primary motivators, the creation of MoAFE is a positive development from a climate change perspective. It establishes a robust institutional framework for an integrated approach, placing the agro-food system at the core of climate action and sustainable development. Building on the former MoFE's leadership in climate policy, the new ministry is well-positioned to advance this agenda. The former MoFE coordinated key national climate policies and facilitated the integration of climate considerations into sectoral plans, including the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) which prioritizes adaptation in agriculture.

The formation of MoAFE centralizes these coordination responsibilities within a ministry that directly oversees agriculture. This creates a stronger platform for mainstreaming climate responses into the agro-food system. Agriculture and food security are central to the NAP, with programs focused on climate-resilient water management systems. This is vital for Nepal, where decades of droughts, coupled with floods and soil erosion, have left farmers struggling to cope with unpredictable weather patterns and depleted water sources.