Nepal imports hundreds of thousands of tons of maize every year to meet the growing demand of its livestock and feed industries. Yet, the country’s fertile Terai region has enormous, untapped potential to produce high-quality maize, increase rural incomes, and strengthen national food and feed security. The challenge has never been about production alone—it has been about creating a system where farmers, markets, financial institutions, governments, and private businesses work together.
The Scaling for Impact Science Program demonstrates that when these actors are connected through market-led partnerships, smallholder farmers can transition from subsistence production to profitable commercial agriculture.
Disseminating Research Recommendations
The project developed a Spring Maize Best Management Practices (BMP) Technical Bulletin, with several years of maize trial data from CIMMYT and Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC). The bulletin was reviewed and endorsed by NARC and co-designed with the Government of Nepal. The technical guidance was widely disseminated through local governments, cooperatives, websites, WhatsApp groups, and social media platforms, reaching approximately 150,000 people.
Knowledge was further strengthened through district-level Training of Trainers (ToT) programs on using BMPs, where 225 cooperative leaders, traders, and local government officials were trained across six districts, creating a network of local experts capable of supporting thousands of maize farmers.
Cooperatives at the Centre of Commercialization
One of the most significant achievements has been placing farmers’ cooperatives at the heart of commercialization.
A total of 86 cooperatives, representing 30,536 farming households (approximately 150,000 individuals), jointly prepared production, aggregation, and marketing plans covering 15,125 hectares of spring maize. Importantly, 65% of participants were women, highlighting the inclusive nature of the approach.
These coordinated production plans translated into impressive outcomes:
- 108,190 tons of maize produced
- Average productivity of 7.15 tons per hectare, more than double the national maize productivity.
- Production valued at approximately USD 22.35 million
- 93% of grain sold commercially
- Average household maize income of USD 1,478, from an otherwise fallow land.
These figures demonstrate that commercial agriculture is not simply about producing more maize—it is about enabling farmers to consistently access profitable markets.
Strengthening Local Service Delivery
Market-led extension has become another pillar of the initiative.
Twenty-one agro-dealers and fifteen machinery suppliers demonstrated improved seed, soil fertility technologies, irrigation equipment, and mechanization services directly in farming communities, reaching around 150,000 people.
At the same time, agro-dealers supplied 300 tons of farmers’ preferred hybrid maize seed, valued at approximately USD 1 million, across eight districts in eastern and western Nepal.
To address production risks, two roundtable discussions with the Department of Water Resources and Irrigation helped coordinate irrigation during critical crop growth stages across 750 hectares of maize production.
Local Networks Driving Lasting Change
Sustainable scaling depends on local ownership.
The program facilitated the establishment of seven district-level maize commercialization networks, bringing together input suppliers, cooperatives, youth representatives, feed millers, traders, and local governments. Three of these networks are led by women.
These multi-stakeholder platforms have become important mechanisms for sharing information on seed availability, fertilizer, irrigation, mechanization, pest management, and market prices. Their district-level WhatsApp groups now support real-time communication while helping local and provincial governments identify farmers’ needs for inclusion in annual planning and budgeting.
Linking Farmers Directly to Industry
Perhaps the most transformative aspect of the initiative has been creating direct market linkages.
Five formal buyback agreements were established between cooperatives and animal feed companies, enabling cooperatives to supply 1,400 tons of maize directly to feed mills. An even more significant milestone was achieved when Gaurishankar Agro Industry Pvt. Ltd., Nepal’s largest animal feed manufacturer, signed a buyback agreement with a farmers’ cooperative in Sunsari District for 22,500 metric tons of maize, valued at approximately USD 5.25 million.
The partnership extended beyond marketing. Through Gaurishankar Agro Industry’s corporate guarantee, the cooperative secured USD 0.34 million in financing from Laxmi Sunrise Bank, enabling timely access to quality agricultural inputs, working capital for maize farmers.
This integrated model—combining production, guaranteed markets, and finance—reduces farmers’ risks while improving their investment capacity.
Scaling Through Strong Partnerships
The program demonstrates that sustainable agricultural transformation requires collaboration across sectors.
Today, the maize commercialization process actively engages:
- 25 local governments
- 28 agricultural input businesses
- 22 maize traders and MSMEs
- 10 animal feed companies
Their combined efforts have driven remarkable expansion in spring maize cultivation—from 2,000 hectares in 2025 to 15,125 hectares in 2026, representing a 650% increase in just one year.
Public investment has also followed. Local and provincial governments invested approximately USD 0.4 million to improve farmers’ access to quality seed, irrigation, and mechanization services.
A Model Ready for National Scale
The success of the market-led commercialization approach has attracted strong government support.
Recognizing its impact, the Government of Nepal has decided to expand the Maize Commercial Model (MCM) to 10 municipalities across the Terai districts of Morang, Sunsari, Bara, Rautahat, Banke, and Bardiya during FY 2026/27, covering Koshi, Madhesh, and Lumbini Provinces.
Looking Ahead
The experience from Nepal demonstrates that agricultural transformation is driven not by a single technology or intervention, but by strong partnerships that connect science, markets, finance, extension, and policy.
By organizing farmers into commercially oriented cooperatives, linking them with input suppliers and buyers, strengthening local institutions, and enabling public-private collaboration, the program is creating a resilient maize value chain that benefits farmers, businesses, and consumers alike.
As Nepal seeks to reduce maize imports and strengthen its food and feed systems, this market-led partnership model offers a practical pathway for scaling inclusive agricultural commercialization—one that improves livelihoods, empowers women, attracts private investment, and builds a more resilient agrifood system for the future.
Facts Only
* Nepal imports hundreds of thousands of tons of maize annually for livestock and feed industries.
* The Terai region has untapped potential for high-quality maize production.
* A Spring Maize Best Management Practices (BMP) Technical Bulletin was developed with trial data from CIMMYT and NARC, reviewed by NARC, and co-designed with the Government of Nepal.
* Technical guidance reached approximately 150,000 people through local governments, cooperatives, websites, WhatsApp groups, and social media.
* District-level Training of Trainers (ToT) programs on BMPs trained 225 cooperative leaders, traders, and local government officials across six districts.
* 86 cooperatives represented 30,536 farming households engaged in production planning over 15,125 hectares of spring maize.
* Production yielded 108,190 tons of maize at an average productivity of 7.15 tons per hectare.
* The production was valued at approximately USD 22.35 million, with 93% of grain sold commercially.
* Average household maize income from fallow land was USD 1,478.
* Twenty-one agro-dealers and fifteen machinery suppliers demonstrated services to approximately 150,000 people.
* Agro-dealers supplied 300 tons of hybrid maize seed valued at approximately USD 1 million across eight districts.
* Two roundtable discussions coordinated irrigation for 750 hectares of maize production.
* Seven district-level maize commercialization networks were established involving input suppliers, cooperatives, youth, feed millers, traders, and governments.
* Five formal buyback agreements were made between cooperatives and animal feed companies for 1,400 tons of maize.
* Gaurishankar Agro Industry Pvt. Ltd. signed a buyback agreement for 22,500 metric tons of maize with a cooperative in Sunsari District, valued at approximately USD 5.25 million.
* The cooperative secured USD 0.34 million in financing from Laxmi Sunrise Bank through the corporate guarantee to access inputs and working capital.
* The Maize Commercial Model (MCM) expansion is planned for 10 municipalities across Terai districts of Morang, Sunsari, Bara, Rautahat, Banke, and Bardiya during FY 2026/27.
Executive Summary
Full Take
The success of the initiative rests not on technical knowledge alone, but on successfully engineering complex relationships across disparate sectors—science, commerce, finance, and governance. The shift from subsistence to commercial agriculture is exemplified by moving production responsibility into farmer cooperatives, which immediately addressed the market access bottleneck that traditionally plagues smallholders. This structural change is critical because it shifts the locus of control over value capture away from intermediaries toward the producers themselves.
A key pattern emerging is the leverage created by linking physical production with financial security. The buyback agreements and subsequent financing provided a mechanism where physical yield could translate directly into working capital, mitigating the inherent risk associated with market volatility for farmers. This integration transforms knowledge dissemination (BMPs) and service delivery (agro-dealers) from mere advisory services into tangible economic inputs, creating a feedback loop that reinforces local ownership.
The expansion of commercialization networks demonstrates that localized institutional capacity is essential for scalability; these networks function as distributed nodes where information flows can be operationalized in real-time through communication platforms like WhatsApp. The focus on empowering women within these structures suggests an implicit recognition that inclusive participation accelerates the benefits of market engagement, suggesting that equitable access to agency is a prerequisite for systemic resilience in agricultural transformation. What systems are unintentionally sidelined when focusing solely on measurable outputs like yield and value? How can this model be adapted to address environmental externalities beyond immediate production metrics as it scales nationally?