GrowInnova

Short Course on GIS and Its Applications
2018-11-22 08:00 - 17:00 UTC
Background
GIS is a computer-based information system for collecting, storing, analyzing, organizing, managing and visualizing geospatial data. It analyzes spatial location and organizes layers of information into visualizations using maps and 3D scenes. It has now become one of the integral components of every scientific study mainly of agriculture, forestry, natural resource management, and environmental monitoring.
The GIS-based analytics gives newer insights into the studies and helps in planning and decision making. This course starts with an introduction to GIS and the review of software which includes practical hands-on exercises for working with GIS software. The course ends with a discussion on various applications of GIS in different domains.
Course Objectives
The overall aim of this course is to sharpen hands-on knowledge and skills of participants on handling, analyzing and using cartography techniques to communicate results in maps. This course is oriented more towards practical exercises and some theories behind GIS.
The specific course objectives are:

Understand the concept of GIS and its applications.
Understand the concepts of the GIS database management system.
Be familiar and conduct spatial analysis.
Be able to create map visualization using cartographic design.
Be able to use GIS in respective domains.

Training Module
1. Introduction to Geospatial Technology

Introduction
Explore the QGIS interface
Displaying vector and raster data

2. Spatial Analysis

Introduction of spatial analysis
Attribute and spatial query
Vector data analysis
Data formats, Working with attribute table properties
Linking spatial and attribute data and working with database

3. Cartographic Design

Understanding the coordinate reference system
Map elements and design principles
Types of maps
Map symbols and visual variables

Training Approach
The course uses ‘interactive learning and sharing’ training methods. We will make use of PowerPoint presentations, plenary discussions, individual hands-on exercises, and the application of open source GIS software.
Target Participants
This course is specially designed for researchers, scientists, academicians, fresh graduates and or scholars of various backgrounds. The course, however, could be useful to those I/NGO professionals and practitioners working in the field of natural resource management, disaster preparedness, land use management, environment, and social science.
Key Requirements
Each participant should have a laptop with the required software.
The participants will be granted a certificate of participation.
Duration: 4 Days (16 Hours in total )
Course Fee: NPR 12,000.00 (Twelve thousand rupees only)
Deadline for Application: This course is open all year round and has no application deadline.
Please fill out this online form to enroll in this course and book your seat: https://goo.gl/forms/DF2yfG2s5V6pGXQs1
For further information, please write to asha@growinnova.com or at 98512 30438

Short Course on Developing Climate-resilient Agriculture System
2018-06-26 - 2018-06-29 | Baireni, Dhading, Kathmandu, Nepal
Background
Climate change and food insecurity are two intertwined problems for an agrarian society which cannot be addressed in isolation from each other. Several pieces of evidence indicate that climate in Nepal is already changing and the impacts are being widely felt (IPCC 2014; GoN 2011). Given that agriculture is the mainstay of Nepalese economy, climate change adaptation in agriculture sector warrants special attention. The Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) is considered as a felicitous strategy for future agricultural development because it amalgamates the objectives of food security and climate change adaptation under one umbrella.
Realizing the need for planned efforts to address the challenges of climate change and variability, Government of Nepal has already implemented National Adaptation Programme of Action and operationalized Local Adaptation Plans of Action framework for mainstreaming local level adaptation actions in regular development plans. The government has also rolled out the process of formulating National Adaptation Plan for medium and long-term planning for climate change adaptation. These initiatives have been paralleled with a growing portfolio of agricultural sector investment plans for responding to climate change through the new Agricultural Development Strategy (ADS) 2014 targeting to promote CSA technologies and practices by strengthening the capacity of agricultural extension staff and farmers.
Course Objectives
The goal of this course is to improve the capacity of decision-makers, extension officers and agriculture frontline staff working in agriculture development and climate change adaptation in Nepal.
After completion of the short-course, the participant will have:

Improved understanding of climate change, agriculture, and food security nexus
Enhanced knowledge and skills of appropriate methods and tools to assess, plan, implement and evaluate technologies, practices, methods, and approaches
Knowledge and skills for designing and implementing location specific CSA
Able to integrate climate change adaptation in agricultural development programmes
Provide training to the farmers and field level staffs for planning, implementing and evaluating climate-smart interventions

Course Modules

Figure: Training building blocks
Course Components
The course uses ‘interactive learning and sharing’ training methods. Participants will learn from, and share experiences with, national and international experts, scientists and practitioners of CSA. The course also includes a field visit to the sites where CSA technologies and practices were piloted and promoted. At the end of the project, participants will develop a skill to integrate CSA into agricultural research and development with potential impact, outcome and output level goals, indicators and activities.
Target participants
The course is designed for extension officers, researchers, academicians, policy makers, I/NGO professionals and practitioners working in the field related to agriculture, climate change, and food security. Applicants should have at least a bachelor degree in agriculture, environmental science, natural resource management, forestry or relevant subjects or working knowledge on agriculture and climate change.
Practical information
Duration: 26-29 June 2018
Deadline: 19 June 2018
Venue: Baireni, Dhading
Course Fee: NPR. 25,000 (Residential- full board, double occupancy) | NPR. 28,000 (Residential- full board, single occupancy)
Fee includes administration, field excursion, lecture materials, stationeries etc. The participants will be awarded a certificate of participation.

For Registration
Please duly fill this online form to book your seat: https://goo.gl/forms/wUSD1zJybHOJCdAS2
Please make your payment to the following bank account:
Name of Account: GrowInnova Pvt. Ltd.
Bank Account Number: 01200105200890
Name of Bank: Everest Bank Ltd.
Branch Office: Pulchowk, Lalitpur
Swift Code: EVBLPKA
For detail information, please write to asha@growinnova.com or call at 98512 30438

Short Course on Community Seed Bank Management
2018-04-15 - 2018-04-18 | Nepalgunj, Banke, Nepal
Seeds are the source of life and the means of survival as they can play an important role in the food security. Both the seeds and farmers, however, are always vulnerable to natural disasters such as drought, floods, earthquakes etc. In a community seed bank, seeds or germplasm of crops are collected, stored, regenerated or multiplied, and distributed to fulfill the seed demands of farmers when need. So, the community seed bank (CSB) can play an important role during the time of emergency and or natural disasters.
In 2015, Nepal was hit by a mega earthquake that caused huge loss and destruction of local varieties of crops resulting food insecurity in the earthquake affected areas. During when thousands of households were revived again with the seeds support provided. So, we already have witnessed how crop seeds can save the life of people during the time of disasters.
Of over 100 community seed banks across Nepal, there are 21 under LI-BIRD’s network with annual seed transaction of over 150 tons, accessed by more than 10,000 farmers. Establishment of CSBs and promotion of community-based seed production (CBSP) are some of the ways adopted for strengthening local seed system and ensuring their right to seed.
Course Objectives
The overall aim of this short course is to build participants knowledge and experience on community seed bank management. After the course, participants will be able to describe the concept of CSB and its contribution to local seed system in order to apply their learning for establishing a CSB in their own context. The key course objectives include:
• Understanding CSB and its intended benefits
• Engaging stakeholders in establishing and managing CSB
• Planning key actions/activities for its sustainability and good governance, and
• Strengthening local seed supply system.
Course Components
The course will be facilitated by LI-BIRD’s experts who hold over two decades’ research and field experience. The course will be participatory and hands-on which will offer stimulating learning experience. The course also includes a field visit to the sites where CSB and its good practices are promoted.
Target Participants
The course is designed for the development practitioners, agriculture officers, extension workers including key frontline staffs that directly works with the farmer community for promoting sustainable agriculture and their seed system in the face of change.
Practical Information
Course Duration: 4 days (15-18 April 2018)
Application Deadline: 7 April 2018
Venue: Bharatpur (Field visit to Nawalparasi)
Course Fee: NRs 18,000 (Non-residential, accommodation, however, will be arranged upon request)
For Registration
Please fill this online form to participate in this course: https://goo.gl/forms/j4W2E38m3H7XSVxk1
Book your seat by the payment of course fee at the following bank account:
Name of Account: GrowInnova Pvt. Ltd.
Bank Account Number: 01200105200890
Name of Bank: Everest Bank Ltd.
Branch Office: Pulchowk, Lalitpur
Swift Code: EVBLPKA
Fee includes administration, lunch, high-tea, field excursion, training materials, stationeries etc. The participants will be awarded a certificate of participation.
For further information, please write to asha@growinnova.com or at 98512 30438.

Short Course on Value Chain Approach and Inclusive Market System Development
2018-04-09 08:00 - 17:00
Photo: LI-BIRD Photo Bank

Background
Agriculture in Nepal is evidently transitioning from subsistence agriculture to semi-commercial and commercial agriculture. The farmers are no longer content with agriculture as a ‘way of life’ and subsistence nature of production. Facilitating farmers to transform their agriculture is the need of the time, and transforming subsistence agriculture into a business opportunity is imperative to attract youths in commercial agriculture.
The value chain approach (VCA) is a powerful tool to transform subsistence agriculture into a business initiative. While inclusive market system development (MSD) is increasingly recognized as a potential means for catalyzing a process that results in a market system. This course is therefore tailored to meet the requirements of clienteles for both the value chain and market system development that ultimately benefits smallholder farmers leading to poverty reduction through inclusive economic growth. This course will be delivered by professionals with a proven record of successfully designing and implementing the value chain and market system development interventions in agriculture and forestry sectors in Nepal.
Course Architecture
The overall aim of this course is to enhance participants’ knowledge and skills in the above subjects. It offers a balanced mix of theoretical content and practical assignments including several dimensions of the value chain and market-based solutions that work better for the smallholder farmers and their products.
The course is custom designed based on four modules. The first module deals with the principles and practices of the value chain with an emphasis on the product selection, identification of problems and opportunities with key stakeholders for value chain interventions. The second module deals with all stages a product comes across on its way to customers through value chain development. The third module deals with market literacy, group marketing and choosing the right methods for business promotion. Finally, the last module deals with engaging private sector service providers for advancing small businesses.
Upon Completion of the Course, the Participants will

Develop a sound understanding of principles and practices of designing and implementing agriculture and forest-based value chain development interventions;
Be able to apply participatory tools and approaches to identifying key stakeholders, challenges and opportunities for successful business innovation and change;
Comprehend the intricacies of the value chain and marketing system, and identifying market-based solutions including state-of-the-art thinking on choosing right promotion methods;
Finally, learn to mobilize value chain actors or facilitators for inclusive market system development.

Target Participants
The course is designed for any development professionals with the mandate to promote value chain and market system development interventions along the road corridors or in rural settings of Nepal. Key front line staff and cooperatives’ managers involved in agri-businesses are highly encouraged to apply.
Training Date: 4-6 March 2020 (21-23 Fagun, 2076)
Venue: Gaidakot, Nepal
Deadline for Application: 28 Feb 2020 (16 Fagun 2076)
Course Fee: NRs. 22,000 (in double occupancy) and NRs. 27,000 (in single occupancy) inclusive of all taxes
Fee includes administration, training materials, stationery and full board for 3-days. The participants are expected to arrive in the course venue before the start of training on their own.
Advance payment is highly appreciated.
For registration, please write to asha@growinnova.com or at 98512 30438

Facilitating Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships to Foster Sustainable and Inclusive Food Systems
2018-01-19 08:00 - 17:00
Are you in the challenging position to design, facilitate or participate in complex change partnerships? Are you wondering how best to deal with power dynamics and conflicts? Do you want to create collaborative learning processes and enable effective communication between different actors? The Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships (MSP) course provides the academic insights and practical skills to help you deal with this challenge!

Interactive Approaches for Impactful Partnerships
In this 10-days course you will learn what multi stakeholder partnerships (MSPs) are and why they are seen as a key strategy for reaching the Sustainable Development Goals. We will explore the key principles for effective MSPs discuss how to design and facilitate them, and practice with a range of participatory tools. The course is highly interactive and builds on the participants’ own experiences and cases of MSPs. You will have active discussions, work on group assignments, engage in role-plays and undertake fieldwork to explore a real-life MSP.
Transformative Change
At the end of the course you will feel confident to design and facilitate complex change processes, in which diverse stakeholders are able to meet, share experiences, learn together and contribute to decisions.
More Information
Please read the FACTSHEET for more information.
Original Announcement: Here

Short Course on Result-based Monitoring and Evaluation (RbM&E)
2017-11-27 08:00 - 17:00
Introduction
Have your organizations truly delivered the promises made to their stakeholders? Have your plans, programs and policies produced the intended results? These are the questions frequently asked by the stakeholders during meetings and workshops.
With the advent of globalization, there is also a growing pressure to both the governments and civil society organizations around the world to be more responsive to the demands of a wide range of stakeholders for good governance, accountability and transparency. It is not enough to simply implement programs and assume that the job is over. One must track progress against planned tasks and examine their outcomes and impacts at a scale that determines the success or failure of that program, and which are only acquired through effective Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) plan.
Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) is evolving through continuous work in progress from traditional method to new result-based approaches. The latter has helped to answer “so what” question, and respond to stakeholders’ growing demand for results. The introduction of result based M&E system takes decision makers one step further in assessing whether and how goals are being achieved over time. It is a powerful management tool that can be used to improve the way of planning, budgeting and executing programmes and or activities for achieving intended results. It provides a continuous flow of information feedback into the system. When implemented it properly can help guide managers or decision makers to overcoming obstacles in the ongoing program and achieving the desired outcomes on time.
Course Objective and Expected Outcomes
This course is aimed to equip you with the necessary knowledge and skills to collect, tabulate and interpret data in an organized manner which will guide management decisions to take action against planned programs for their effective implementation.
After the completion of this course, participants will be able to:

Understand the concept, purpose and types of M&E frameworks
Identify tools and techniques to measure and report progress
Undertake a problem analysis and determine relevant indicators & data necessary for M&E
Track progress, discover unplanned effects and judge the impact at scale
Familiarize with the application of mobile apps based technology in result based M&E
Understand the use of M&E results and give feedback in order to improve management performance and evidence based decision making
Finally, prepare for and implement result based M&E process

Course Content
This course will cover the following key components:

Concept and types of M&E frameworks
Tools and techniques of M&E
Theory of change and problem analysis
Understanding MEAL and setting indicators
Understanding result based M&E
Data collection and analysis for M&E reporting
Application of mobile apps in result based M&E
Measuring and interpreting results
Use of M&E results
Reporting results and giving feedback

Target Participants & Eligibility
This course is specially designed for M&E Officers, project planners, managers, analysts and anyone interested to improve their skills on monitoring and evaluation. Fresh graduates and those who have faced the challenge of managing projects for achieving better results are highly encouraged to apply. Applicants should have at least a bachelor degree in any subjects.
Course Duration: 4 days (4-7 March 2018)
Deadline for application: 23 February 2018
Venue: Kathmandu/Baireni, Dhading
Course Fee: 22,000 (Non-residential) | 30,000 (Residential in double occupancy – Optional)
For Registration:
Please duly fill this online form to participate in this course: https://goo.gl/forms/wUSD1zJybHOJCdAS2
Book your seat by the payment of course fee at the following bank account:
Name of Account: GrowInnova Pvt. Ltd.
Bank Account Number: 01200105200890
Name of Bank: Everest Bank Ltd.
Branch Office: Pulchowk, Lalitpur
Swift Code: EVBLPKA
The course fee includes administration, stationery, course material, lunch, high tea, and other training related expenses. The participants will be awarded a certificate of participation after completion of the course.
Intro of Resource Person and Facilitators

For further details, please contact at:asha@growinnova.com | 98512 30438 (Asha)

International Short Course on ‘Plant Genetic Resources and Resilient Seed Systems for Sustainable Food Security’
2017-11-23 08:00 - 17:00
Training Date: 23 October-10 November 2017
Venue: Pokhara, Chitwan, Nawalparasi and Kathmandu, Nepal
Loss of plant genetic resources from agriculture production system and impact of climate change has resulted in major concerns about global food and nutrition security. Community Biodiversity Management (CBM) emerged as successful participatory strategy to realize on-farm management of plant genetic resources and strengthening the farmers’ seed systems. CBM distinguishes itself from other strategies because of its focus on the process of enabling farming communities to increase the access, availability and use of genetic resources and quality seed of superior varieties. In addition, CBM has the potential attributes to enhance the resilience of farming communities in responding to change by enhancing social interdependence, collaboration, adaptability and autonomy.
Whilst this strategy for managing agrobiodiversity and seed systems is becoming increasingly adopted by NGOs, further mainstreaming within national PGR and seed sector development programme is needed. The objective of the training is to enhance participants’ capabilities to use CBM as integrated strategies for managing genetic resources, seed systems and promoting community resilience towards change. The training focuses on the following topics:

Contemporary approaches in agrobiodiversity management for food and nutrition security;
Strengthening the seed systems to increase the access, availability and use of high quality seed of superior varieties by small-holder farmers;
Scaling successful participatory practices (e.g. community seed bank, diversity seed kit, seed fair, participatory plant breeding, participatory variety selection, community based seed production, social seed network, crowd sourcing of superior varieties, value addition and market linkages of orphans crops);
Community based adaptation to climate change;
Participatory learning and action research;
Enabling PGR and seed policies – CBD-Nagoya Protocol on ABS, IT-PGRFA (Farmers’ Rights, Multilateral system, Benefit sharing); Intellectual Property Rights (UPOV, WTO-TRIPS), and
Putting policies into practices and programmes- a global outlook on successful mechanisms and initiatives

For more about the training: https://growinnova.com/international-short-course-plant-genetic-resources-resilient-seed-systems-sustainable-food-security/

International Course On Plant Genetic Resources And Resilient Seed Systems For Sustainable Food Security
2017-10-23 08:00 - 2017-11-10 17:00
Training Date: 23 October-10 November 2017
Venue: Pokhara, Nepal

Loss of plant genetic resources from agriculture production system and impact of climate change has resulted in major concerns about global food and nutrition security. Community Biodiversity Management (CBM) emerged as successful participatory strategy to realize on-farm management of plant genetic resources and strengthening the farmers’ seed systems. CBM distinguishes itself from other strategies because of its focus on the process of enabling farming communities to increase the access, availability and use of genetic resources and quality seed of superior varieties. In addition, CBM has the potential attributes to enhance the resilience of farming communities in responding to change by enhancing social interdependence, collaboration, adaptability and autonomy.
Whilst this strategy for managing agrobiodiversity and seed systems is becoming increasingly adopted by NGOs, further mainstreaming within national PGR and seed sector development programme is needed. The objective of the training is to enhance participants’ capabilities to use CBM as integrated strategies for managing genetic resources, seed systems and promoting community resilience towards change. The training focuses on the following topics:

Contemporary approaches in agrobiodiversity management for food and nutrition security;
Strengthening the seed systems to increase the access, availability and use of high quality seed of superior varieties by small-holder farmers;
Scaling successful participatory practices (e.g. community seed bank, diversity seed kit, seed fair, participatory plant breeding, participatory variety selection, community based seed production, social seed network, crowd sourcing of superior varieties, value addition and market linkages of orphans crops);
Community based adaptation to climate change;
Participatory learning and action research;
Enabling PGR and seed policies – CBD-Nagoya Protocol on ABS, IT-PGRFA (Farmers’ Rights, Multilateral system, Benefit sharing); Intellectual Property Rights (UPOV, WTO-TRIPS), and
Putting policies into practices and programmes- a global outlook on successful mechanisms and initiatives

This training programme is organized in Pokhara, Nepal. ‘Pokhara is one of the most beautiful cities of Nepal with majestic view of Himalaya surrounded by rich biodiversity landscapes, and part of the Ramsar site for wetland conservation’. The training includes field work in LI-BIRD project sites. The course concludes with a design exercise for transforming lessons learnt into strategic action plans, in which participants integrate CBM and community resilience in practice.
Please download a detailed brochure on the course focus, objectives, target group and further information.
Please make use of this unique training opportunity to interact with peers in your field of expertise and interest from all over the world!
Training Date: 23 October-10 November 2017
Venue: Pokhara, Nepal

Short course on Participatory Crop Improvement for food security & climate resilience
2017-10-11 08:00 - 2017-10-14 17:00
Duration: 4 days (11-14 October, 2017)
Deadline for application: 4 October, 2017
Venue: Pokhara, Nepal
Course fee: USD 600 or NPR 60,000
Course Background
In the context of emerging climate change challenges, conventional plant breeding has limitations to support farmer’s food security and livelihoods. Participatory Crop Improvement (PCI) approaches integrate most of the major variables needed for producing crop varieties that are adapted to diverse, complex and risk-prone environments. Engaging farmers and other stakeholders both thoroughly and appropriately in the various stages of breeding process, variety selection and validation increases the probability of the acceptance of the new varieties thus produced. The PCI approaches build skills of farming communities, since, seeds can be produced and provisioned in the grassroots, it increases rate of uptake of adoption of new varieties and therefore contributes towards improving the overall efficiency of breeding programmes. It also enhances the confidence of the plant breeders since visibility of their impacts accruing from the new varieties is available faster than the conventional approaches. Within this context, the course intends to share the wealth of scientific knowledge and information, evidences and experiences of the PCI approach, developed over two decades through the sustained collaboration between LI-BIRD, Bangor University, Wales, UK and Bioversity International. This short training course will be focused on demonstrating how the PCI approaches allow breeders to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of modern plant breeding without much increasing the financial resources.
Course Objectives
This course aims to enhance the participants’ knowledge and skills to adapt and incorporate approaches of participatory crop improvement into conventional breeding to increase food security and climate resilience.
The specific objectives of this course are:

Review and compare current conventional and PCI approaches and methods
Build the skills and capacity of participants to design and apply PCI methods into their ongoing breeding research programmes
Share practical lessons on the effectiveness of PCI through farmer engagement during field site visits

Course Relevance
PCI is a demand-driven approach to plant breeding, which promotes the participation of researchers, farmers and all other pertinent stakeholders in the breeding process. Within this approach, both the local agro-ecological environment, farmers’ local knowledge and practices, and the needs of the market and consumers are fully considered while designing a breeding programme. Using a participatory approach, realistic breeding goals are established and the most appropriate parents chosen for developing new varieties. Farmers are part of the breeding process by being directly involved in both the testing and the selection of the varieties on their farms, which leads to the empowerment of the farmers alongside the increased adoption of newer varieties. Participatory methods can be used within conventional approaches and combined with modern molecular marker-assisted breeding.
Course Content
The course covers historical perspectives, concept, theory, and practices of the PCI approach. The course facilitates the participants to learn different typologies/methods of PCI and the participants can decide upon the best method for their situation based on the local context, availability of the resources and need of the clients. Key methods of PCI included in this course are Participatory Variety Selection (PVS), Grassroots Breeding (GB) and Participatory Plant Breeding (PPB). A variety of methods will be used including individual assignments, lectures, case studies, group discussions, teamwork, field work, and videos. The course will conclude with the development of action plans which will integrate all course topics that relate to the current participants’ working situations and their project activities. In addition, engagement with the alumni will be established through continued follow-up services and support for effective implementation of the action plans.
Target Participants & Eligibility
The four-day PCI training is intended for professionals from different national and international organizations including those working in National Research Programmes, CGIAR centres, Private Sector seed companies and Academia in relevant fields. Participants must be at least a graduate in agriculture. Advanced university degree in agronomy, plant breeding, and plant pathology are preferred. Fresh graduates are also highly encouraged to apply.
Practical Information
Duration: 4 days (11-14 October, 2017)
Deadline for application: 4 October, 2017
Venue: Pokhara, Nepal
Course fee: USD 600 or NPR 60,000 (10% discount if you register two or more participants from your team). The fee includes accommodation with full board and lodging, field excursion, administration, lecture materials, stationeries etc. The fee does not cover travel costs and incidental expenses. The participants will be granted a certificate of participation.
Online Application Form
Students/fresh graduates from Nepal willing to apply for fellowship should apply with one nomination and/or recommendation letter from their Institution.

Short course on Research Data Analysis and Technical Report Writing
2017-10-10 08:00 - 2017-10-14 17:00
Duration: 5 days (10-14 October 2017)
Venue: Bharatpur, Chitwan
Deadline for application: 2 October 2017
Course fee: NRs 30,000

Background
Agriculture research has contributed significantly for generating information, securing food and advancing crop and animal husbandry. Research works can be grouped into three stages, namely Pre-Experimental Stage, Experimental Stage and Post-Experimental Stage. Knowledge on all these three stages is necessary for effectively and efficiently handling the agricultural problems. In addition, researcher and statistician should have regular interaction. In many cases, researchers do not invest time and effort in pre and post-experimental stages. Major components in agricultural research are setting research questions, choosing treatments, field layout and design, data recording, analysis and inference drawing. Data analysis and interpretation are the major and difficult part in agricultural research. This training therefore deals with the data analysis, generating evidences, interpreting results and technical report writing.
Rationale
Data from the lab and field have been generated daily across the research stations in Nepal to solve the research questions based on the technical problems. Basic concept on statistics and local context are necessary to understand for systematizing the research data set. Many biometrical software and statistical techniques are available to generate the valid information from the research data, making inferences from imperfect data. The purpose of statistical methods is to help understand data, to make clear and apparent for all of the important kinds of interesting features that a data set might contain. Care should be given during experiments, data collection, analysis and interpretation. Usually the statistical analysis of data in scientific experiment is used to find the treatments effect. Some of these procedures are appropriate with some kinds of treatments but may entirely inappropriate with the other. The appropriate statistical analysis may be one that gives a valid test of the null hypothesis developed from the stated objectives and yield maximum information for reporting.
Course objectives
The overall aim of this course is to sharpen hands on knowledge and skills of researchers on analyzing various kinds of scientific data through the use of biometrical software and generating evidences for scientific writing. This course is oriented more towards practical exercise and is designed for sharing methods, procedures and steps to analyze research data and to interpret the results required for technical paper/ reporting.
The specific course objectives are:

analyzing the scientific data generated from research
enhancing skills on using statistical software and data handling
broadening vision on interpretation and presentation of research results
improving knowledge base on research design and analysis of experimental data
strengthening state-of-the-art thinking on writing a scientific or technical paper

Training Module (Workflow diagram)

Training Approach
The course uses ‘interactive learning and sharing’ training methods. We will make use of Power Point presentations, plenary discussions, individual or group exercises, and the application of key statistical software for generating and analyzing scientific research data. Participants will also learn from, and share experiences with, renowned experts, scientists and authors of scientific writing.
Target participants
This course is especially designed for the agriculture scientists, researchers, academicians, fresh graduates and or scholars. The course however could be useful to those I/NGO professionals and practitioners working in the field of forestry, environment and social science. Applicants should have at least a bachelor degree in agriculture, environmental science, natural resource management, forestry and other relevant subjects.
Key requirements

Each participant should have computer or laptop and be well familiar with its application
They should be graduate in agricultural science or have field experiences
Internet facility should be available in the training hall along with LCD projector
They should have knowledge on agricultural problems, research design and methodology

Students or fresh graduates willing to apply for scholarship must apply before 25 September 2017 and provide a recommendation letter from their Institution. The participants will be granted a certificate of participation.
Duration: 5 days (10-14 October 2017)
Venue: Bharatpur, Chitwan
Deadline for application: 2 October 2017
Course fee: NRs 30,000 (fee includes accommodation in a hotel with full board and lodging, administration, stationery, course materials, and training related travel expenses.

Short course on Home Garden: A proven approach to improving family nutrition and household resilience
2017-09-11 08:00 - 2017-09-14 17:00
Training date: 11-14 September, 2017
Venue: Lakeside, Pokhara
Application deadline: 4 September, 2017
Course Fee: NPR 22,500 (residential) and 15,000 (non-residential)

Background
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s Hunger Statistics of 2015 shows that nearly one in eight of the total world’s population are suffering from chronic undernourishment, and almost 98% of these people live in developing countries. Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2016 elucidates that 36% of children under the age of five are suffering from chronic under nutrition (stunting) and 41% of women of age 15-49 are anemic in Nepal. The Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Plan (2013-17) of Nepal emphasized on the role of agricultural development in order to address nutrition problem and the Agriculture Development Strategy (2015-2035) of Nepal also ear marked food and nutrition security as one of the flagship programme. LI BIRD’s extensive research and piloting have proved that within agriculture, homestead biodiversity management is a prominent factor to improve both family nutrition and household income.
‘Kitchen Gardens’ in Nepal was a step in the right direction, however it excluded elements of crop diversification and livestock integration. LI BIRD recognized this gap so developed, piloted and implemented the concept of a ‘Home Garden’ which includes all necessary components of homestead agriculture. A Home Garden includes fruits, vegetables, species, fodder, medicinal plants and ornamental plants, managed together with livestock and other species such as fish, mushroom and honeybees. The Home Garden was primarily intended for family consumption, but has also been found to be successful in reducing economic vulnerability of resource poor households through the sales of surplus products and reducing expenditure on vegetables and fruits. Home garden is now a proven approach to improving family nutrition and household resilience to climate change. It is integrated into the regular extension programme of Nepal government and is being implemented in 20 districts of the country with possible expansion. It has also been mainstreamed in the CTEVT course curriculum for Junior Technician level.
Course Objective
The overall aim of this course is to build participants knowledge and skills on integrated home garden management. Specific objectives of this course are to make the participants able to:

Describe home garden concept and its contribution to family nutrition and household income
Design climate resilience home gardens
Apply low cost home garden management principles in their own context

Course Content
The course will elaborate on the connection between nutrition and agriculture, and will provide tools for increasing the resilience of smallholder farming families through improved nutrition and income. It will also identify techniques to increase food diversity in smallholder farms through systematic planning and design. Based on the principle of low external input agriculture, the course will highlight organic agriculture and the vertical and horizontal space utilization for optimum output.
Training Approach
The course will be facilitated by LI-BIRD which holds more than 12 year’s research and field experiences. It will also invite the participants to share their own experiences to reflect on the current national and global Home Garden practices. The course will be a participatory and hands-on professional training which will offer a stimulating learning experience. A variety of methods will be used to make the learning effective including; pre course assignments, group exercise, field excursion, case studies, group discussions, lectures and audio/visual media.
Target participants
The course assumes participants to have basic knowledge on agriculture as well as contemporary development interventions in Nepal. Graduates and professionals from the agriculture, health and nutrition and or development sectors are encouraged to apply.
We will accommodate all participants in a hotel with full board and lodging for five nights and four days. The course fee covers all course related costs such as stationery, training materials, field visit and excursion including accommodation as part of the course fee. Participants however are requested to arrange their own travel to and from Pokhara.
Students or fresh graduates willing to apply for scholarship must apply before 1 September, 2017 and provide a recommendation letter from their Institution. The participants will be granted a certificate of participation.
Practical Information
Training date: 11-14 September, 2017
Venue: Lakeside, Pokhara
Application deadline: 4 September, 2017
Course Fee: NPR 22,500 for residential and NPR 15,000 for non-residential participants

Enhancing Entrepreneurship Skills in Agricultural Marketing and Business Plan Development
2017-07-29 09:00 - 2017-08-01 17:00
GrowInnova in association with LI-BIRD organized a Short Course on ‘Enhancing Entrepreneurship Skills in Agricultural Marketing and Business Plan Development’ at Sauraha, Chitwan from 29 July to 1 August 2017. The four-day training was provided to Marketing/ Sales Officers, Seed Production Officers, Senior Field Technicians, and other professionals of the private sector and development organizations to enhance their knowledge and skills on entrepreneurship and business plan development for agricultural marketing.
In the context of Nepal, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) face a lot of challenges and hurdles in agricultural marketing such as small and scattered scale of productions, irregularity in supply and variety of items, and inability to meet demand volume etc. Besides these, entrepreneurs lack in basic knowledge and skills of business plan development. The problem is further exacerbated by the shortage of productive labor force caused by the prevalent youth out-migration. So, it is difficult for entrepreneurs to sustain their agri-businesses. Hence, it is very necessary to assist the entrepreneurs to develop their capacity on all intricacies of a business plan, help them expand their linkages within the marketing environment and build a trust-based relationship with various actors for promoting their agri-businesses.
This course was therefore tailored to make these market-based solutions work better for both the entrepreneurs and institutions that are involved in agri-businesses. The major course modules of this training were: principles and practices of agricultural marketing, business plan development required for successful agri-business, choosing right methods and techniques of business promotion, and intricacies of rural marketing and supply chain management.

Testimonials
“Though I am working on improving the livelihoods of people through the value chain, I was completely unaware of the concept of the value chain and how entrepreneurships can be flourished. The training taught me on several aspects of the value chain and agricultural marketing. It was an eye-opener for me to know the value of money for pricing of a product.”

– Uma Kumari Thapa, Agriculture Technician
Improving Livelihoods of Marginalized Communities (ILMC) Project, Salyan
“I found this training very fruitful because it has a much practical application on agricultural marketing and business plan development. Though I am a Marketing Research Officer, I had never realized what the value of money would be as time lapses by and how the pricing is fixed. The training further analyzed the problems of marketing and identified market-based solutions which I liked very much.”

– Puskar Sharma Rimal, Marketing Research Officer
Anmolbiu Pvt. Ltd., Bharatpur
