Kathmandu, April 20
The South Asian Policy Leadership for Improved Nutrition and Growth, a multi-stakeholder regional cooperation platform for food systems, is hosting the Kathmandu Dialogue on food systems on April 24 and 25, the second in a series after the Dhaka Dialogue.
Over 100 delegates from SAP- LING member countries, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India, Bhutan, and Nepal, will discuss regional collaboration and build consensus for improving food systems and nutrition across South Asia. The event is co-hosted by the National Planning Commission, with BRAC Bangladesh - the current SAPLING Secretariat and the largest non-governmental development organisation in the world, IPE Global Limited, an Indian development sector think and do tank, and Institute for Integrated Development Studies, Nepal, headquartered in Kathmandu.
According to a press release issued by SAPLING, the Dhaka Food Systems Dialogue held in December 2022 focused on unbundling three thematic areas, namely climate-smart food systems, reducing post-harvest losses, and food safety standards, as possible levers for regional cooperation. The deliberations highlighted the need for technological collaboration and transfers, strengthening knowledge systems, and fostering cross-border private sector investments as levers of regional cooperation. The event in Kathmandu will refine the three levers for building resilient food systems in South Asia. Experts from research and academic institutions, civil society, the private sector, bilateral and multilateral organisations, and philanthropies will attend the Nepal food systems convention. The event will also host a high-level inter-governmental policy round table with government representatives from the National Planning Commission, Ministries of Agriculture in Bhutan and Sri Lanka, Indian High Commission in Nepal, and Bangladesh.
SAPLING aims to establish consensus among the five South Asian nations through mainstreaming evidence-based policy, action, and leadership.
A version of this article appears in the print on April 21, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
