Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (Nepal)


The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development is a governmental body of Nepal responsible for the growth and development of agriculture sector in the country. Local areas each have a District Agriculture Development Office. The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development is the central apex body of Government of Nepal to look after the agriculture and allied fields.

History of the Ministry

The Government of Nepal established the early form of this ministry, the Department of Agriculture, in 1952, dissolving the Agricultural Council, which was the highest governing body until that time. In 1974, the department was developed into a ministry and the portfolio of Irrigation was included resulting in the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation. After further restructuring, the Ministry of Irrigation was formed separately.
It was in 1991 that the Government decided to strengthen cooperatives throughout Nepal and between 1999 and 2001, the ministry was named the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperative. When the portfolio of cooperatives was outsourced again, the ministry gained was known under the names of Ministry of Agriculture or Ministry of Agricultural Development depending on the current administration.
In 2018, under the second Oli cabinet, the portfolio of the ministry was enlarged and the portfolio of Land Management was added to the then Ministry of Agricultural Development and the portfolio of Cooperatives was returned to the ministry, while the Ministry of Land Reform and Management was discontinued. In August 2018, the ministry's portfolio was adjusted again, due to a cabinet expansion, the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation was reopened while the agriculture-related portfolio was changed to Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development.

Former Ministers of Agriculture

This is a list of former Ministers of Agriculture since the Nepalese Constituent Assembly election in 2013:
NamePartyAssumed OfficeLeft OfficePortfolio
1Hari ParajuliCommunist Party of Nepal 25 February 20142 July 2015Minister of Agriculture
2Haribol GajurelCommunist Party of Nepal 12 October 201513 July 2016Minister of Agriculture
3Gauri Shankar ChaudharyCommunist Party of Nepal 4 August 201631 May 2017Minister for Agricultural Development
4Ram Krishan YadavNepali Congress26 July 201715 February 2018Minister for Agricultural Development
5Chakrapani KhanalCommunist Party of Nepal until 17 May 2018
Nepal Communist Party from 17 May 2018		16 March 201820 November 2019Minister for Agriculture, Land Management and Cooperatives
Minister for Agricultural and Livestock Development
Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Development
6Ghanashyam BhusalNepal Communist Party20 November 2019Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Development