YPARD Nepal participates in Kathmandu Food Fair

The Department of Food Technology and Quality Control (DFTQC) in association with Nepal Food Scientist and Technologist Association (NEFOSTA) organized three days long “Food Fair” with the aim of promoting traditional foods from Nepal. 

Furthermore, the Food Fair was organized to provide information about the nutritional value of local food and the health benefits. The fair was organized from 23rd to 25th of March 2018 at Bhrikuti Mandap, Kathmandu, Nepal, with the liberty of free entrance to attract the public.

The minister of agriculture Mr. Chakrapani Khanal inaugurated the event successfully. There were seventy-eight stalls or exhibition spaces in the fair among which fourteen stalls promoted traditional foods of Nepal, twenty-four stalls were involved as the information centers and forty stalls promoted the industrially processed goods as well. 

Entertaining programs were also provided by numerous artists which included a concert, mock drill and awareness programs. YPARD Nepal participated in the fair as one of the information dissemination centers. A team of six members – Abhishek Khadka, Rabin Shrestha, Anushuya Guragain, Sushma Chettri, Isha Dongol and myself were involved in the management and planning of the event. 

The promotional materials were exhibited and brochures were distributed among the visitors. As it was the third appearance of YPARD at the Food Fair, the visitors were already used to the  YPARD name and were keen to know more about the network.  

The stall attracted a huge number of students belonging to the field of agriculture and food technology. Not only the students but the renowned food technologists and business professionals were also seen to be interested to know about YPARD. By the end of the fair, a total number of three hundred and forty-seven people had registered in our visitor’s profile.

The visitors were informed about the background of the network and introduced to the  YPARD Nepal chapter. A number of people requested to join YPARD. The event ended successfully on the evening of the third day.

We would like to extend our gratitude to Mr. Abhishek Khadka, the YPARD Nepal representative for his guidance, Dr. Huma Bokkhim, Senior Food Research Officer, DFTQC for providing space at the Food Fair and all those who offered a helping hand.

Picture credit: YPARD Nepal