Kathmandu, June 29
Foreign Minister
Dr. Arzu Rana Deuba has informed the international food stakeholders that Nepal
has constitutionally guaranteed the right to food for its citizens.
Addressing a special ministerial session of the United Nations Food and
Agriculture Organisation (FAO) held in Rome, Italy on Sunday, she said, “Nepal
considers the right to food as a fundamental right, and supporting laws have
provided the necessary framework for its implementation and realisation.
Furthermore, the execution of the Strategic Plan on Food System Transformation
has strengthened this right.”
Speaking at a session
on food rights and nutrition for the least developed countries, small island
nations, and landlocked countries, organised as part of the FAO’s ongoing 44th
special session, she stated that the government has ensured safe and quality
food through regulatory standards, laboratory surveillance, and consumer
protection under the Food Safety and Quality Control Policy.
“A separate
consumer court has been established to safeguard consumer rights which is a
step towards supporting citizens' natural right to health and nutritious food,”
said FM Dr. Rana.
She further
shared that Nepal has made significant progress in child health and nutrition
over the past two decades.
Stunting among
children in Nepal has decreased from 57 per cent to 25 per cent, underweight
children from 42 per cent to 24 per cent, and child morbidity from 15 per cent
to 8 per cent.
Likewise, Nepal’s
ranking on the Global Hunger Index has improved with hunger dropping from 37
per cent in 2000 to 22.4 per cent in 2024.
Foreign Minister
Dr. Rana emphasised that campaigns promoting healthy eating habits, nutrition
education integrated into school curricula, and awareness messages disseminated
through the media have helped foster a preference for fresh and locally
produced food among the younger generation.
According to
her, despite notable progress in grassroots innovation, there is a need to
improve access to artificial intelligence, digital agricultural platforms, and
modern science and technologies in Nepal.
Similarly, Dr.
Rana expressed concern that climate change poses a grave challenge to Nepal. It
has resulted in melting glaciers, erratic rainfall, extreme weather events, and
climate-induced disasters, which are significantly impacting agricultural
production and livelihoods. "This is further weakening the ecological
balance linked to mountain agricultural systems," she said.
The Foreign
Minister called for increased international cooperation to ensure inclusive
progress in nutrition and prosperity, particularly in terms of access to
financial resources, technology transfer, and knowledge promotion.
She also
emphasised the crucial roles of international organisations like FAO and UNICEF
in this area.
However, FM Dr.
Rana also warned that the outmigration of youth is depleting the rural labour
force, while human-wildlife conflict in the hilly and Himalayan regions is
posing a growing threat to livelihoods and food security.
“We must preserve and promote our rich agro biodiversity, traditional
knowledge, and high-altitude crops. For this, we require targeted investment,
technical support, modernisation of agricultural systems, and access to
advanced technologies such as AI,” she said.
Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 30 June 2025.
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