Kathmandu, October 7 :

With an objective to fight for the rights of small farmers and promote sustainable agriculture to safeguard farmers livelihood, an Asia level farmers conference kicked off here from today.

Addressing the inaugural session Sharad Parasar, senior officer at the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives said the government is planning to develop a farmers’ school to improve productivity through integrated crop and pest management.

He said the activities of the Caritas Nepal have helped the government in its endeavour to improve crops production.

The conference will conclude on October 11 with a joint declaration on behalf of small farmers’ rights in Asia.

The declaration would raise voice against unfair trading regime being put forward by WTO through Agreement in Agriculture -AOA and seed patenting requirement in TRIPS (trade related intellectual property rights).