The Norwegian government and UNDP work together to support sustainable recovery and exclusive sustainable energy solutions

The Royal Norwegian Embassy in Kathmandu and the UN Development Programme in Nepal have signed an agreement on additional funding of NOK 28,123,221 (USD 2.67 million) to support resilient recovery and scaling up of sustainable energy solutions in five earthquake-affected locations in West Rukum and Jajarkot. Through the Energy for Food/Renewable Energy for Resilient Agro-Food Systems (RERAS) project, this initiative will promote sustainable energy solutions for productive use in agriculture in early recovery efforts.

Her Excellency Torun Dramdal, Ambassador of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Norway in Kathmandu, and Ms. Ayshanie Medagangoda-Labé, Resident Representative of UNDP Nepal, signed the agreement on behalf of their organizations. According to the agreement, the project will support proposed early recovery interventions in five local governments in Rukum West and Jajarkot affected by the Jajarkot earthquake. This will include technical support and agricultural technology financing to help farmer groups, women’s groups and youth commercialize indigenous crops through performance-based financing and improved value chain support.

In partnership with the World Food Program (WFP), the project will ensure a reliable supply of renewable energy services by energy service providers to promote energy solutions in the community and in schools to support school feeding programs, including technical support for the development of local grid systems. The interventions will further improve environmentally sustainable farming practices by improving soil productivity and climate-smart farming practices, which will aim to reduce women’s workload in mountain areas. With additional funding, UNDP will pursue pilot interventions to localize environmental management in close coordination with all three levels of government. Institutionalizing governance at all levels in Nepal is crucial for long-term accountability and sustainability in promoting energy and food security. Integrating environmentally friendly local government practices will harmonize our energy initiatives with local environmental efforts.

“The Embassy of the Kingdom of Norway is pleased to provide additional funding as energy is desperately needed in the earthquake-affected regions. Both UNDP and WFP are competent implementing partners with extensive experience in this region. I believe that this project will contribute to increasing access to electricity, nutritious food and improving environmental management,” said HE Toruń Dramdal.

“UNDP’s global commitment is to support 500 million people to gain access to clean and affordable energy by 2025. I would like to thank the Government of Norway for supporting this initiative, through which we advance Nepal’s contribution to the global commitment linking energy, food and climate systems, in the most vulnerable for the earthquake communities in Jajarkot and West Rukum,” said Ms. Ayshanie Medagangoda-Labé.

“This project complements our work on the school meals program, which is WFP’s flagship program. We have an enormous task ahead of us in ensuring that hopefully one day all these schools contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in Nepal, and indeed around the world,” said Robert Kasca, Country Director and Representative of WFP Nepal

The Energy for Food project, which started in July 2023, is implemented in Karnali and Sudur Paschim provinces to increase food security, improve renewable energy solutions and strengthen food systems by using reliable and affordable energy for production, irrigation, processing , storage and packaging, and marketing of locally grown agricultural products. It aims to help over 150,000 people gain access to renewable and clean energy solutions to improve food security, in line with UNDP’s global strategy to alleviate multidimensional poverty.