The Food Security Education Project

The Food Security Education Project had its origins in 2022 when several retired agronomists and plant scientists, many who had worked in Nepal and other developing countries, began discussing the problems and possibilities of providing in-country scholarships to Nepali students.  The exodus of academic talent was widely recognized, as were reasons for a reluctance to return to their home country.  The solution, at least partly, lay in educating the students in their own country.  We believe that good students, asking good questions and challenging their mentors and educators leads to a quality education and a deeper culture of learning at these institutions.  We recognize the possibilities of distance learning as well as the shortcomings, and believe these can be addressed by providing subject matter experts in the more urgent fields of study.  The expectation is that these opportunities will benefit both students and faculty at host institutions.  We are heartened by the knowledge that many Nepali's hold qualified positions in the USA and many developed economies, and by the statement of a nonprofit mentor who advised that "Nepali's are voracious and determined academics."  This we are observing, even in our infancy.

As of this writing, there are 20 FSEP scholars in their second to fourth semester, pursuing B.Sc. degrees at five universities in Nepal.  Early in 2026 we will offer another cohort of students a scholarship to pursue a B.Sc. degree in a food security science of their choosing.  All scholars who remain in good standing will be provided full academic support for the duration of their degree.  Assuming budgets allow, we expect to offer scholarships each year, and will assume those attendant financial responsibilities.  It bears mentioning that we have Memoranda of Understanding and excellent relationships with the universities these scholars attend.  We are also aware of the most food insecure districts within the country, as well as the relative academic disadvantages those students may have faced in their earlier education and resulting ability to compete solely on the basis of academic measures.  We are cognizant of the potential bias and take this into consideration as well as the economic status of the family the student is coming from.

We have been encouraged by many of our Nepali colleagues to initiate a program to support post-graduate scholarships for M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees.  As the current accomplished academics and administrators begin to contemplate retirement, there is great concern that talented individuals be available to assume these posts.  Thus we have initiated a program to support M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees for in-service candidates who hold a B.Sc. or M.Sc. degree but wish to pursue a further education.  We are currently accepting project concept proposals, and have Nepali and FSEP evaluation teams who will review and advise on the merits of these proposals.  Our learning curve will begin as soon as the first proposal is logged on our website.

We also recognize that graduating scholars are fulfilled when they have meaningful and challenging employment opportunities following graduation.  We believe the Government of Nepal is aware of this problem and has initiated programs to educate and provide opportunities for entrepreneurs.  There is much to be done.

The following are a few examples of what your contribution can support:

Local transportation to and from campus for a scholar for one semester:	$50
Provide modest living expenses for one semester:	$100
Average tuition & fee expense for one merit scholar for one semester:	$300
Average tuition & fee expense for a full-fee scholar for one semester:	$900
Tuition and fee expense for 1 year of MSc degree (2 year/4 semester program):	$1750

Those of us who began this project are quite pleased with our progress-to-date.  We have learned a great deal about the Nepali educational infrastructure and readily admit we have much to learn and much to absorb about the Nepali culture.  We fully understand that this journey will not be a short one.  We have defined some important metrics by which we will  measure our progress.  For these and other additional details about our nonprofit organization please visit our website:  https://www.foodsecurityed.org