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There was a time when agriculture was the booming sector on which the livelihood of rural people depended. Returns were promising and increasing back then. 

In recent years, however, returns from this sector have been diminishing alarmingly despite encroachment upon forests,  pastures and marginal parcels for cultivation. Unable to make a living by relying solely on the farms, rural people have begun looking for alternatives. 

With youths leaving the villages in droves for abroad, farmlands have fallen fallow, mainly in hilly areas. Instead of agriculture, remittance is fast becoming the source of  livelihood for rural people.

Food imports have gone up in recent years, thanks to an increase in uncultivated land and increased flow of remittance resulting from a growing exodus of village youths. 

This article seeks to examine the factors turning agriculture into an unattractive sector and triggering youth exodus, and prescribes ways to revive the sector. 

The farmer needs a number of things to maximize returns from agriculture in this day and age. A large parcel of land, access to bank credit, irrigation facilities, a reliable supply of fertilizers as well as electricity and an easy access to the market are some of the prerequisites. 

But these things are hard to get in our country. Farmlands are shrinking, thanks to ownership transfer from one heir to another. Even these parcels are located in remote parts where it is quite difficult to apply modern methods of cultivation for improving both production and productivity.

With the aim of helping small farmers improve farm production and productivity, the government as well as banks have launched various microfinance schemes/programs. 

But even this intervention has failed to make meaningful changes in the farmers’ lives. First and foremost, these programs/schemes have failed to bring back the farmer into farming. What’s more, most of the beneficiaries have not been able to pay interest, leave alone the principal. Contrary to Nepal’s experience, Bangladesh has been implementing a similar program/scheme with great success. 

The way out

The need of the hour is to turn farmlands lying fallow into cultivable land and make Nepal a food-sufficient country by thinking albeit differently. 

The government in particular needs to take a number of steps, to begin with. 

First of all, it needs to go for community farming. 

How to bring parcels of land lying fallow under community farming? What should be the basis for cost and benefit sharing? 

Leasing could be one of the options. A group of persons, including entrepreneurs, can lease parcels belonging to a large number of land-holders by paying them a certain amount annually. Such groups can maximize both production and productivity in those swathes by employing modern methods of farming. This will enable food-insecure communities living close by to buy locally-grown foodstuffs at reasonable rates apart from giving sustainable agricultural practices a great boost. Large farms also mean jobs for members of local communities. All in all, such farms can bring great dividends to rural Nepal. 

However, the government has to have political will to opt for community farming. First and foremost, it needs a huge budget to lease parcels of land before leasing it out to large-scale growers. Also, the government needs to invest in the development of necessary infrastructure and provide legal, technical and financial support to the growers. 

At a time when farmlands are shrinking, the government needs to move ahead with a sense of urgency if it is serious about averting a grave food crisis. 

Portraying a distressing situation persisting in remote corners of Nepal, Pansara (31) of Budhinanda municipality-3, Kuru (Bajura district), gave birth to her third child on the way to a health center in the first week of December last year, marking the third time that she has given birth in unsafe conditions outside a health facility.  

A photojournalist managed to capture Pansara with her newborn and a health volunteer, Dharma Chadara, in the nick of time. The pictures went viral, bringing to light once again one of the several ordeals facing women in remote districts of this country, including Rukum, Rolpa, Humla, Jumla, Achham, Mugu, Bajhang, Bajura, Kalikot and Dolpa. 

The situation sheds light on the numerous problems women like Pansara encounter while trying to reach health centers alone, often in the midst of labor. 

Pictures of Pansara and her baby in a remote corner  have evoked memories of my mother's struggle in giving birth to seven children and raising them. Per my mom, I, the fourth child, was born in the midst of a busy farming season. It so happened that mom experienced labor while digging a heap of cow dung for spreading it in the corn fields as manure. Fortunately, farm workers noticed her ordeal and took her home where I was born. 

I feel sad when I get to hear that my grandma left me without seeing me because a daughter was born in her family, for the fourth time. 

My three brothers were born after me in similar circumstances. 

During the birth of my youngest brother, I witnessed the immense pain my mother endured, making me realize that women triumph over death while giving birth. What surprises me these days is that even during the birth of their youngest child, the seventh one, at home, my parents lacked awareness of services available at healthcare facilities. 

Fortunately, we now have access to quality healthcare services, thanks to a highway. This transformation highlights the strides made in ensuring better healthcare for mothers and their newborns in our community.

In general, though, the Western region of Nepal, including Karnali and Sudurpaschim provinces, lacks easy access to healthcare facilities, thanks to apathy on the part of the state. The state, while not physically enslaved, seems intellectually constrained, prioritizing power dynamics over developmental efforts in the remotest corners of the country. 

That is one of the reasons why young girls lose their lives in menstrual slums called Chhaugoth every year, while many women suffer from long-term diseases due to appalling conditions there. The recent death of two girls in menstrual slums in Achham shows that efforts to address this issue have been insufficient.

Education should focus on dismantling ingrained beliefs rather than physically demolishing structures. The emphasis should be on eliminating mental barriers rather than sheds built for menstrual seclusion.

Returning to the pressing issue of women giving birth on their way to health centers, questions arise about services provided by a municipality. How can an area designated as a municipality lack even basic health services and transportation infrastructure, including roads? Who is to blame for this sorry state of affairs if not elected officials, who prioritize their petty interests at the expense of the public. 

It is time to raise awareness and demand better healthcare facilities for women in remote areas so as to save lives and prevent further suffering.

Asiatic Wild Dog (Cuon alpinus), which is known with different names such as Dhole, Pack hunter and Whistling hunters,  is a non-charismatic mammal from the canidae family (a family of dogs).The population of Dhole is imperiled throughout its range primarily due to anthropogenic influences, earning it a place in the IUCN Red List, but it is yet to get due attention from concerned stakeholders, pushing it further toward extinction.

Like other members of the Canidae family, these dogs prefer communal living, living and hunting in a group. These group hunting characteristics make them efficient hunters. Studies have shown that a pack of Dhole can hunt prey species nearly 10 times their size. Ungulates predominate the diet of the Dhole but, in some instances, they can hunt other animals, including the calf of elephants, as well. Furthermore, the species can live from the tropical to the alpine climate at altitudes ranging from the sea level to 5,300m. These two characteristics are sufficient to know that Dhole are highly adaptable species.  Despite this high adaptability, the global population of the Dhole is reported to be following the declining population trajectory with the current estimate of population to range between 949 and 2215 individuals.

According to an IUCN assessment, habitat destruction due to urbanization and housing; agricultural and aquaculture expansion; depletion of prey species due to illegal hunting and other anthropogenic activities; habitat degradation due to invasive species; transmittance of diseases by the feral dogs are major threats to the species. Besides, retaliatory killings have been reported from Bardia National Park and Kanchanjunga Conservation Area of Nepal.

At present, the presence of Dhole have been confirmed from 11 countries of the world while they have been extirpated from nine countries, including Afghanistan, Russia Federation, South Korea and Singapore. Besides, the presence of the species in North Korea and Pakistan are uncertain while they are supposed to be extinct from Vietnam as well.

Status in Nepal

In Nepal, the estimated population of Dhole is nearly 100, covering a wide range of habitats from tropical to alpine, their presences have been confirmed from very few locations in recent times. This includes Kanchanjunga Conservation Area and Tinjure Milke Jaljale area of Eastern Nepal, Parsa National Park and Chitwan National Park of Central Nepal and Annapurna Conservation Area, Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve and Bardia National Park of Western Nepal.

Additionally, there are some documents proclaiming the presence of Dhole from other areas as well. Forest Resource Assessment, 2000 mentions the presence of Dhole in Langtang National Park and DNPWC states that Dhole can be found in Khaptad National Park as well. This information needs further verification. Global Biodiversity Information Facility, which maintains the global database of species occurrence, contains a single occurrence data of Dhole from Nepal, representing the specimen collected from Nuwakot district and kept at the Field Museum of Natural History (Zoology) Mammal Collection. These indicate that Dhole occupies a wide range of habitats in Nepal as well ranging from lowland to high Himalayan region.

Most of these records of Dhole are based on anecdotal records. Discovery/rediscovery of Dhole in both Bardia National Park and Chitwan National Park were made primarily through the camera trap placed for tigers while the records in case of Parsa National Park also predominates the records based on accidental encounters. The efficiency of hunting by Dhole implies that they are an essential component of the ecosystem which can regulate trophic level dynamics. But stakeholders, including researchers and conservationists, are yet to acknowledge the importance of this species. NPWC Act is a glaring example of this: While it gives special protection to the leopard contrary to the IUCN Red List, the Act fails to recognize Dhole as an endangered species.

As their population status suggests, these dogs are more threatened than tigers in Nepal or elsewhere. Despite this, conservation intervention targeting Dhole is unheard of. This is primarily because of the lack of information about Dhole and lack of advocacy. As the studies focusing on the Dhole are limited in number and scope in Nepal, we are yet to understand the ecology of these neglected canids. 

Way forward

Investment on conservation intervention without comprehensive understanding of the ecology brings significant change. Thus, research on the population status and dynamics throughout their distribution range in Nepal is highly essential. But, as the species is a non-charismatic one, the potentiality to receive attention from the international donor agency is limited. So, the government should invest and encourage the ecological study of this species. Also, regulation and control of feral dogs and enhancement of habitat and prey condition throughout their range are vital. Otherwise, these top predators living on the brink of extinction will disappear from their habitats soon.

The author is Assistant Professor at the Department of Environmental Science, Padma Kanya Multiple Campus

Nepal’s economy has always been based on agriculture, which is also a significant component of its rich cultural legacy. The bulk of the people of this landlocked South Asian country depend primarily on agriculture for their means of subsistence. Around 65 percent of people are engaged in agriculture in Nepal as their main profession. 

The agricultural diversity in Nepal is a result of the country’s geographical diversity, which includes a wide range of temperatures and altitudes. The diverse landscapes of Nepal, which range from the fertile Tarai plains in the south to the rugged Himalayan mountains in the north, provide a foreground for a variety of crops and farming methods. Among the basic crops planted here are rice, wheat, maize, millet, barley and potatoes. Cash crops including tea, coffee, sugarcane and various fruits are also grown. Cattle, poultry and yak herding are examples of livestock farming, which makes a considerable contribution to the agricultural industry.

It is impossible to exaggerate the value of agriculture to Nepal’s economy. Almost two-thirds of the nation’s workforce is employed in it, giving the vast majority of people a means of subsistence. Also, the GDP of Nepal is mostly derived from agriculture about one-third.

In addition, the Constitution of Nepal has enlisted agriculture in the Directive Principles, Policies and Obligations of the State. Article 51 (e) Policies relating to agriculture and land reforms. Its objective is to implement scientific land reforms to benefit farmers and eliminate dual land ownership, encourage land pooling to boost productivity and discourage idle land ownership. It also aims to promote land management, commercialization, industrialization, diversification and modernization of agriculture while protecting farmers’ rights. Additionally, the policy talks about regulating land use based on factors like productivity, land type and ecological balance while ensuring farmers have fair access to agricultural inputs, products and markets.

As we see in India, With the help of cutting-edge farming innovations like the Green Revolution and genetically modified crops like Bt Cotton, India’s agricultural sector transformed from a food-deficit country into a major agricultural producer, boosting both farmer income and economic growth. Likewise, China’s extensive modernization of agriculture, which includes the use of GM crops and cutting-edge equipment, emphasizes the importance of government support in enhancing agricultural output and promoting economic growth. With the help of programs like the ATA, Ethiopia’s tech-driven agriculture is increasing production, luring investment, and boosting economic growth while also raising food security and job possibilities.

With a 34 percent share, agriculture contributes to about one-third of the nation’s GDP. When it comes to agricultural land, the Tarai makes up 60 percent of all agricultural land in Nepal. In Nepal, there are numerous huge, regularly flowing rivers, making irrigation facilities for agriculture readily available. The rivers in Nepal are capable of irrigating 6.5 x 10 power six hectares, according to estimates. This exceeds our six hectares (3.8 10 powers) of agricultural land.

International organizations and development groups help Nepal’s efforts to modernize its agriculture. Due to their close ties, nations like India and China have contributed significantly to the development of Nepal’s agricultural industry. Additionally, international collaborations, like the one with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, have been crucial in providing technical know-how and financial support.

Nepal’s economy, especially the agriculture sector, has been significantly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Using cutting-edge farming technology can be very beneficial to the nation’s economic growth. The necessity of investing in agricultural innovation and technology to boost productivity and income is highlighted in the World Bank report ‘Harvesting Prosperity: Technology and Productivity Growth in Agriculture’. The research proposes that harnessing the significant potential gains in agricultural productivity and income can be facilitated by increased investment in new knowledge and its implementation.

Despite covid-related lockdowns, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has been offering farmers and micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) technical support, high-quality inputs, and enhanced market linkages. These efforts have resulted in agricultural produce sales exceeding $256,000,000 in 2021—a five percent increase from 2020.

An $80m Rural Enterprise and Economic Development Project has been agreed by the World Bank and the Nepal government to support the country’s agriculture industry and accelerate post-pandemic recovery. Through the support of rural businesses and the creation of local jobs and possibilities, the project seeks to revolutionize Nepal’s agriculture industry. The agriculture industry in Nepal can become more robust and productive with the use of cutting-edge farming technologies, which will promote long-term economic growth and development.

In order to boost productivity and economic growth in agriculture, technology and innovation are crucial, according to the World Bank research ‘Harvesting Prosperity: Technology and Productivity Growth in Agriculture’. The paper places a strong emphasis on the necessity of public funding for research and development to increase productivity, new technology investment for growth, and trade and intellectual property rights legislation to foster innovation.

A number of agriTECHs in Nepal are using cutting-edge digital technologies to revolutionize agriculture. For example, the private sector collaboration with Nepali cooperatives, funded by Feed the Future, offers 200,000 farming households in 25 districts access to machines and training. In a similar vein, contemporary agricultural technology gives farmers the ability to lower labor costs and boost output.

In conclusion, Nepal is mostly dependent on agriculture, which employs 65 percent of the country’s workforce and makes a major GDP contribution. The diversified topography of the nation supports a wide variety of crops, although the agricultural industry suffers difficulties, most notably in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. With the help of international partnerships with China, India and the Food and Agriculture Organization, Nepal is actively implementing cutting-edge farming technologies to get over these obstacles and promote long-term economic growth. The World Bank emphasizes that in order to promote agricultural innovation, public investment for research, technology and laws are necessary. Together with initiatives like the Rural Enterprise and Economic Development Project, initiatives from the World Bank, USAID, and agriTECHs demonstrate a commitment to modernizing Nepal's agriculture and promoting hope for a more resilient and productive sector that will advance the country’s economy as a whole.

The author is pursuing BA LLB at Kathmandu School of Law