Agriculture remains the backbone of rural economies across APO members, yet primary producers often capture only a limited share of the value generated in agricultural value chains. Productivity gainsharing provides a practical mechanism to ensure that productivity improvements and value addition are shared more equitably among stakeholders, thereby supporting inclusive growth, stronger rural livelihoods, and more sustainable agrifood systems. The 2025 APO report Advancing Shared Prosperity: Best Practices in Productivity Gainsharing in Asia’s Agrifood Sector underscored productivity gainsharing’s potential as a critical enabler of equitable profit distribution, efficiency improvements, and competitiveness in the agrifood sector.

The National Productivity and Economic Development Centre of Nepal held the Multicountry Observational Study Mission on Productivity Gainsharing in Agriculture face-to-face in Ilam, Nepal, from 7 to 9 January 2026. The mission aimed to expose participants to practical gainsharing models across crops, dairy, and agritourism and to examine how productivity gains can be translated into fairer benefit distribution among farmers, cooperatives, and agribusinesses.

Thirty-five participants from 13 APO member economies attended the mission, guided by four resource persons: one from Japan, one from Malaysia, and two from Nepal. The study mission featured structured site visits to Ucchapahadi Tea Producer Cooperative Society Ltd., Gorkha Tea Estate, Khumbadevi Dairy Dog Chew Production, Lucky Dairy cheese factory, cardamom farms and the Cardamom Development Center in Fikkal, Nepal Everest Cardamom Production and Processing Pvt. Ltd., and the Barpeepal Bisauni agritourism homestay. These visits enabled participants to observe cooperative production, value-added processing, market linkages, product innovation, and the integration of agriculture with rural tourism. The site-based learning was reinforced through thematic sessions on productivity gainsharing, market systems development, and plant variety protection, resulting in high participant satisfaction and strong learning outcomes.