What does digital transformation in agriculture truly require? Is it simply about introducing new technologies, or is it about understanding farmers’ everyday challenges and building solutions around their realities?

These questions were at the heart of Digi Krishi: Powering Inclusive Growth Through Digital Agriculture, a multi-stakeholder meetup that brought together more than 100+ participants from different sectors and regions of Nepal’s agricultural ecosystem. The event strived to give a platform for farmers, along with government representatives, academia, financial institutions, microfinance institutions (MFIs), banks, agrovets, digital service providers, aggregators, development organizations, and students to discuss the future of digital agriculture in Nepal.

The majority of participants were farmers, ensuring that the conversations remained grounded in real agricultural challenges while encouraging collaboration across the entire value chain.

Strengthening Nepal’s Digital Agriculture Ecosystem

Digi Krishi was organized under the DIGI Nepal project, funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and implemented by Gham Power Nepal. The events focused on identifying the needs and challenges of farmers and other agricultural stakeholders, gathering feedback on digital agriculture solutions, and strengthening coordination among public, private, financial, and development sector actors, also generating practical recommendations to guide future digital agriculture interventions.

The initiative organized regional events across three provinces: Lumbini Province (Butwal), Karnali Province (Surkhet), and Sudurpaschim Province (Dhangadhi), bringing together diverse agricultural communities and capturing region-specific perspectives on the future of farming.

Four Sessions Focused on Practical Solutions

The program was structured into four main interactive sessions to facilitate structured dialogue, knowledge sharing, and collaborative problem-solving.

Session 1: Putting Farmers at the Center of Digital Agriculture

The event formally began with the welcome remarks by Ms. Shikshya Bhattarai, Agriculture Officer at Gham Power, who welcomed participants from across Nepal’s agricultural ecosystem. She emphasized that digital agriculture should address real challenges faced by farmers. She also encouraged participants to actively share their experiences and ideas so that future digital solutions are designed around farmers’ actual needs, including timely access to weather information, advisory services, market prices, and other essential agricultural services.

Session 2: Digital Agriculture Solutions from DIGI Nepal

The second session focused on the “Overview of DIGI Nepal and Digital Agriculture Solutions: Experience from Gham Power Nepal,” led by Mr. Sharaj Shrestha, Agri-Consultant at Gham Power. He presented the vision of the DIGI Nepal project and highlighted the role of digital innovation in creating a more inclusive and data-driven agricultural sector. He emphasized the importance of improving access to agricultural information, advisory services, and decision-support tools, particularly for smallholder farmers, women, and marginalized communities. He also addressed emerging challenges such as climate change and labour shortages.

The session also introduced Gham Power Nepal’s Super Krishak Ecosystem, comprising the Super Krishak mobile application, the Gham Power Krishi Meter (GPKM), and supporting data portals, demonstrating how these integrated digital solutions can strengthen agricultural advisory services, farm data management, and evidence-based decision-making.

Session 3: Understanding Regional Agricultural Challenges

The third session focused on the agricultural landscape of Lumbini, Karnali, and Sudurpaschim Provinces. Government representatives shared insights on regional agricultural priorities and ongoing initiatives while farmers reflected on their lived experiences in agriculture and highlighted gaps in accessing timely, reliable, and practical agricultural information and services.

The discussions highlighted several common concerns, including:

• Limited access to agricultural advisory services
• Climate-related production risks
• Market access challenges
• Labor shortages
• Gaps in digital literacy and information access
• Farming drudgery and mechanization need

These conversations helped identify opportunities where digital farming technologies could deliver meaningful impact.

Session 4: Stakeholder Dialogue and Collaborative Workshops

The final working session, “Stakeholder Dialogue and Group Workshop,” brought together different stakeholder groups, including farmers, agrovets, and representatives from financial and academic institutions. They discussed their daily activities, challenges they faced, and opportunities they were expecting to strengthen agriculture through digital solutions. This was followed by a plenary sharing session, where each group presented key insights and recommendations.

The discussions reflected diverse perspectives, including farmers’ need for better inputs, irrigation, and market access, agrovets’ need for capacity building and coordination, and financial institutions’ concerns regarding risk management and farmer identification systems. A shared understanding emerged on the importance of stronger coordination and integrated digital systems across the agricultural ecosystem.

Key Insights from Digi Krishi

One of the strongest takeaways emerging from Digi Krishi was that agricultural transformation is not only a technological challenge, but it is also a challenge of coordination and system integration. Participants highlighted that each stakeholder group has its own strengths, knowledge, and potential, and meaningful progress can only be achieved when these capabilities are brought together through collective efforts.

Farmers, government bodies, financial institutions, agrovets, development partners, and technology providers all play interconnected roles, and stronger coordination among them can contribute to building a more resilient and effective agricultural ecosystem. The future of agriculture depends not on isolated innovations but on how effectively all stakeholders are connected into one integrated ecosystem.

Building Partnerships for Long-Term Impact

Beyond the formal sessions, Digi Krishi provided an excellent networking platform where participants from different organizations connected, shared experiences, and explored opportunities for future collaboration. The workshop reinforced the importance of partnerships among government agencies, financial institutions, development organizations, private sector actors, and farmers to accelerate digital transformation in Nepal’s agriculture sector.

The Journey Continues

Every question, idea, and shared experience made Digi Krishi more meaningful. The insights gathered from Lumbini, Karnali, and Sudurpaschim Provinces will continue to guide future digital agriculture initiatives and strengthen the bridge between technology, knowledge, and farming communities.
This journey does not end here. Digi Krishi will continue to expand into more districts and provinces in the coming days, reaching new voices and new perspectives from across Nepal. Because the future of agriculture is not built by technology alone, it is shaped by people who listen, collaborate, and grow together.

Contributed by – Shikshya Bhattarai, Agriculture Officer