KATHMANDU: The 11th annual meeting of Asia Pacific countries focused on setting standards for quality and sustainable agriculture tools and machinery began in Kathmandu on Tuesday. The Asian and Pacific Network for Testing of Agricultural Machinery (ANTAM), a network with 23 member countries, is hosting the meeting.
According to National News Agency Nepal, a total of 55 participants from 19 countries are attending the meeting to discuss the legal framework for the regulation of quality agricultural machinery in the Asia Pacific region. Addressing the inaugural session of the three-day meeting, Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Dr. Govinda Prasad Sharma, emphasized the importance of high-quality agricultural machinery for the modernization of agriculture. Secretary Sharma shared that the Ministry was planning to implement legal provisions to ensure the import of quality agricultural machinery into Nepal.
Likewise, Nepal Agriculture Research Council (NARC) Nepal Agriculture
Engineering Research Centre Chief and ANTAM’s President, Shreemad Shrestha, stated that the meeting aims to prepare universally accepted criteria and standards for agricultural tools applicable in the 23 member countries. According to him, agricultural tools and equipment tested in one country would be recognized as a standard throughout these countries.
The meeting also highlighted the alarming statistic that the import and use of substandard agricultural machinery is contributing to the death of one agriculture machine operator every two days, according to data provided by Nepal Police. Participants of the meeting urged the government to take positive intervention measures in response to this issue.