Kathmandu, June 27: The Secretaries in Ministry of Agriculture of Nepal and India, on June 23, signed a new Work Plan in New Delhi to continue cooperation in the field of agriculture between the two countries. This Work Plan was signed at the end of the three-day visit of a ten-member Nepalese delegation to India to attend the Fourth Meeting of Joint Agricultural Working Group, according to an Indian Embassy press statement, Monday.

The Group was constituted under the Memorandum of Understanding between the two Governments signed in 1991. Both sides also agreed to take necessary steps to extend the validity of the present MOU by another 10 years after its expiry in 2001, the statement said.

Both sides have agreed to cooperate in implementing the programmes for watershed based agricultural development in eco-fragile zones of two countries for increasing the income level of farmers and mitigating the problem of floods. The two delegations also agreed to enter into a dialogue to conclude a bilateral agreement on sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures encompassing plant and animal quarantine and food safety requirements, the Indian Embassy said.

Among other notable achievements of this meeting include agreement on exchanging information and advanced technologies for upgradation of cash crops including horticulture and spices. The Indian side also offered to supply farm machinery and sprinkler /drip irrigation systems on negotiated commercial terms for agricultural development in Nepal which was welcomed by the Nepalese side.

Both sides reiterated the need for eradication of rinderpest and BCCP diseases and agreed to exchange team of experts to formulate a Plan of Action in this regard at the earliest.

Under the same MOU, another Work Plan between Indian Council of Agricultral Research (ICAR) and Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC) is also in operation simultaneously and a number of programmes have been successfully implemented under this Work Plan, the press statement stated.