Ginger Project

Ginger Competitiveness Project: Enhancing Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary capacity of Nepalese exports through Public-Private Partnership has been under implementation since June 2012. The duration of project is for two years with the total funding of US$ 1,373,694 from different development partners. The project has been directly funded with US$ 1,173,694 in which Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) has contributed US$ 711,550 and Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) has contributed US$ 462,144. Besides this, GoN has contributed US$ 60,000 in kind and private sector has contributed US$ 140,000 (includes land and other facilities) in the project. The Ministry of Commerce and Supplies is the grant recipient whereas the implementing entities are Ministry of Agriculture Development, GoN Food and Agriculture Organization, United Nations; and Agro-Enterprise Centre, Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry. NECTRADE project along with the NIU have been facilitating the overall implementation of the Ginger Project. The project focuses on developing ginger value chain' in Nepal with major interventions to support small farmers and traders to improve quality of fresh ginger supply for export.

 

Project goal:

To increase ginger farmers’ income

Project Objective:

To increase income level of ginger farmers through improvement in SPS arrangements and value addition for export to India and other countries

 

Outcome:

To increase market opportunities for Nepalese ginger

 

Outputs:

• Processing facilities designed, constructed and operationalized
• Training materials development/ trainings
• Supply of quality ginger rhizomes
• Market study (SPS requirement)
• Improved government capacity to negotiate and comply with SPS requirements of trading partners

 

Salient features:

• demand-driven,
• public-private partnership and
• multi-stakeholder involvement

 

This project focuses on developing the ginger value chain, identified as a high-potential sector for export, value-addition, employment and income-generation by the Nepalese government and development partners. The project promotes public-private sector collaboration to improve the quality of, and add value to, ginger for export, which will enhance market access and increase incomes of rural people involved in the ginger value chain, who comprise a large number of poor, women-headed households. The success of capacity building activities depends, in large part, on the parallel establishment and operation of a ginger washing/processing facility in Eastern Nepal. Construction of this facility will enable ginger farmers to add value to their production (via washing and simple processing) and ensure increased transparency and fairer prices for growers.

This is a demand-driven project that has the support and commitment of key stakeholders. The goal is to increase the incomes of ginger farmers through improvements in SPS arrangements for export to India and other countries. The purpose (outcome) is increased market opportunities for Nepalese ginger through a series of SPS related and value-addition interventions. The project aims at achieving the following expected results through respective actions:

1. Ginger washing/processing facility designed, constructed and operational and producer organizations strengthened

   • Design facilities, carry out preparatory assessments, obtain permits and produce business plan for the establishment and operation of a ginger washing and processing facility (with auction yard) at the Jhapa corridor.
   • Establish washing and processing facility at the Jhapa corridor. Deliver hands-on training (including on financial and business management, record-keeping, etc.) and set up systems required for the effective operation and management of the facilities.
     
     
2. Relevant training and technical materials on Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs), post-harvest handling and sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) requirements developed and capacity enhanced
   
   
   • Develop ginger growing manual and other training materials (print, video, etc.) on GAPs for ginger cultivation, post-harvest handling of ginger and SPS requirements suitable for target beneficiaries.
   • Develop trainers and conduct trainings for farmers and other value chain actors on GAPs, post-harvest management, grading and control of post-harvest rots, etc.
     Establish ginger demonstration cum multiplication plots at Jhapa hubs and use these plots for field training courses in GAPs and post-harvest management.
3. Supply of quality ginger rhizomes of improved marketable cultivars available
   
   
   • Devise and implement system for provision of post-harvest control measures (inputs).
   • Obtain improved (marketable) cultivars from other parts of Nepal and further afield.
4. Study on regional and international markets for fresh and processed Nepalese ginger, and market (SPS) requirements
   
   
   • Conduct market study and produce detailed analysis report on existing and potential markets (India, Bangladesh, Iran, Middle East, EU, and USA, etc.) as well as market access / SPS requirements for fresh and processed ginger.
5. Improved capacity of Nepalese government to negotiate and demonstrate compliance with SPS import requirements of trading partners
   
   • Traceability and reducing frequency of pesticide residue testing.
   • Bilateral meetings and contacts between the Nepalese and Indian government counterparts to discuss sanitary and phyto-sanitary issues related to fresh ginger exports from Nepal to India, and reach agreement on sanitary and phyto-sanitary import requirements for ginger.

Given the scale of ginger production, and the characteristics of producers, this project will have a measurable impact on trade and poverty reduction in Nepal. Some 2,000 small farmers will be involved in, and benefit directly from, activities under the project. Furthermore, the new ginger washing/processing facility is expected to serve up to 4,000 households in the districts covered by the project in Eastern Nepal. Projected benefits include increased gross margin income (of between 25 and 30%) on ginger sales for beneficiaries, some two thirds of whom will be women, increased market access, and greater transparency on post-farm transactions. Estimated benefits are likely to increase substantially if other value-adding activities can be leveraged by the project.

This project is supported by the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) and Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) because of the nature of the issues to be addressed and the expected impact on trade and poverty reduction. In essence, this project includes two sub-projects: (i) the component for consideration by the STDF focuses on SPS capacity building, analysis of ginger market opportunities (and SPS requirements) in the region and beyond, and support on SPS regulatory aspects; and (ii) the component for consideration by the EIF focuses on the construction and operation of a ginger washing/processing facility in Eastern Nepal, and provision of high-quality ginger rhizomes and agricultural inputs.