Kathmandu: A team of Nepali students presented their innovative agricultural mobile application, KrishiMitra, to Minister Madan Pariyar at the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development on November 11. The presentation highlighted the app’s potential to revolutionize rural marketplaces and strengthen Nepal’s farming communities, with the promise of lowering production costs and maximizing income.
The KrishiMitra initiative is being developed by the Institute for Rural Development Community, co-founded by Laxman Bista and Asmod Khakurel. The project is led by Puja Khatri, a Nepali student at Soka University of America, who recently secured USD 800 in seed funding at Soka’s Impactathon competition alongside teammate Gaurabh Sapkota to build a minimum viable product (MVP). While Khatri leads the project development from California, where she is currently enrolled in classes, the concept was presented to the Minister by Bista and Khakurel—both based in Nepal—in a half-hour session with ministry officials.
KrishiMitra also features a digital marketplace tailored for smallholder farmers, allowing villagers to post agricultural goods or household products for sale while buyers can browse and directly connect with sellers—similar to platforms like Facebook Marketplace but localized for Nepal’s rural context.
Beyond the marketplace, KrishiMitra serves as a comprehensive agricultural support platform that provides essential tools and information, including farming tips, soil health insights, weather forecasts, soil testing resources, and pest detection features. By integrating technology with community-driven solutions, KrishiMitra aims to empower smallholder farmers, enhance market access, promote sustainable farming practices, and strengthen Nepal’s rural agricultural economy.
During the meeting, discussions included the pricing challenges faced by farmers in the Terai region, where produce often cannot be sold at the government-fixed rates. The latter half of the discussion focused extensively on KrishiMitra’s features, technical vision, and community impact. Ministry officials actively engaged in the conversation, taking notes and asking detailed questions about its potential implementation.
Minister Pariyar commended the young innovators for their forward-thinking approach and dedication to national development. He emphasized the importance of youth-led initiatives that blend technology, entrepreneurship, and social purpose for Nepal’s agricultural transformation. The Minister, who has consistently championed youth voices in climate and agricultural policy, expressed enthusiasm to see the app’s development progress and confirmed that there will be a follow-up meeting once the Beta version is completed to explore opportunities for collaboration and potential support from the Ministry.
As the project moves toward its Beta phase, the KrishiMitra team expressed optimism about future collaboration with government bodies to scale the platform and empower farmers across the country.
