NEPAL
by IFPRI | April 26, 2017
IFPRI Publications on Nepal
Sort by:
Latest
|
Year
|
Title
|
Type
Type
Themes
Regions/Countries
Year
Language
Task or time? Comparing methods for measuring the gender distribution of work
Banerjee, Archis; Kumar, Neha; Quisumbing, Agnes R.. 2024
Banerjee, Archis; Kumar, Neha; Quisumbing, Agnes R.. 2024
Abstract | View
There is growing evidence that gender disparities in the distribution of paid and unpaid work impose constraints on women’s well-being and livelihoods, reducing access to paid employment, and time for education, leisure, and social activities. Yet, gender disparities in unpaid work often go undiagnosed by traditional household surveys. While time-use surveys are well-suited for measuring unpaid work, they are often expensive to administer and take substantial amounts of survey time, leading to respondent fatigue, particularly in multi-topic surveys where other outcomes are also being collected.
South Asia Nutrition Knowledge Initiative: Abstract Digest August 2024
IFPRI. 2024
IFPRI. 2024
Abstract | View
In this third edition of the South Asia Nutrition Knowledge Initiative’s Abstract Digest, we present studies on global, regional, and country-specific evidence on various topics of nutrition. These include the impact of short birth intervals on child malnutrition in the Asia-Pacific region, a summary of lessons from program evaluations of food systems interventions for nutrition in South Asia, the effect of zinc supplementation in pregnant and lactating mothers in a three-country study, and a review of evidence on school meals, impact on nutrition, and their other evolving dimensions.
Remoteness, farm production, and dietary diversity in Nepal
Singh, Tushar; Kishore, Avinash; Alvi, Muzna. 2024
Singh, Tushar; Kishore, Avinash; Alvi, Muzna. 2024
Abstract | View
This paper explores the relationship between agriculture, dietary diversity, and market access in Nepal, testing the complex causal chains involved, and the nuanced connections between production diversity and dietary diversity among smallholder farmers. While diversifying farm production could enhance dietary diversity, the case of Nepal indicates a varied and context specific relationship. Market access emerges as a crucial factor, often exerting a more significant impact on smallholder farm households than production diversity. Access to markets not only influences economic viability but also contributes directly to food and nutrition security, offering a practical solution to address dietary needs. Focusing on Nepal's diverse terrain, the study analyzes the interplay of remoteness, market access, irrigation availability, and complementary inputs in shaping farmers' decisions, providing valuable insights into sustainable agricultural strategies for improved dietary outcomes in low- and middle-income countries.
Defining a dichotomous indicator for population-level assessment of dietary diversity among pregnant adolescent girls and women: A secondary analysis of quantitative 24-h recalls from rural settings in Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, India, and Nepal
Verger, Eric O.; Eymard-Duvernay, Sabrina; Bahya-Batinda, Dang; Hanley-Cook, Giles T.; Argaw, Alemayehu; Becquey, Elodie; Diop, Loty; Gelli, Aulo; Harris-Fry, Helen; Kachwaha, Shivani; Kim, Sunny S.; Nguyen, Phuong Hong; Saville, Naomi M.; Tran, Lan Mai; Zagré, Rock R.; Landais, Edwige; Savy, Mathilde; Martin-Prevel, Yves; Lachat, Carl. 2024
Verger, Eric O.; Eymard-Duvernay, Sabrina; Bahya-Batinda, Dang; Hanley-Cook, Giles T.; Argaw, Alemayehu; Becquey, Elodie; Diop, Loty; Gelli, Aulo; Harris-Fry, Helen; Kachwaha, Shivani; Kim, Sunny S.; Nguyen, Phuong Hong; Saville, Naomi M.; Tran, Lan Mai; Zagré, Rock R.; Landais, Edwige; Savy, Mathilde; Martin-Prevel, Yves; Lachat, Carl. 2024
Abstract | View
Background The Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women of Reproductive Age (MDD-W) indicator was validated as a proxy of micronutrient adequacy among nonpregnant women in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). At that time, indeed, there was insufficient data to validate the indicator among pregnant women, who face higher micronutrient requirements. Objective This study aimed to validate a minimum food group consumption threshold, out of the 10 food groups used to construct MDD-W, to be used as a population-level indicator of higher micronutrient adequacy among pregnant women aged 15–49 y in LMICs. Methods We used secondary quantitative 24-h recall data from 6 surveys in 4 LMICs (Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, India, and Nepal, total n = 4909). We computed the 10-food group Women's Dietary Diversity Score (WDDS-10) and calculated the mean probability of adequacy (MPA) of 11 micronutrients. Linear regression models were fitted to assess the associations between WDDS-10 and MPA. Sensitivity, specificity, and proportion of individuals correctly classified were used to assess the performance of MDD-W in predicting an MPA of >0.60. Results In the pooled sample, median values (interquartile range) of WDDS-10 and MPA were 3 (1) and 0.20 (0.34), respectively, whereas the proportion of pregnant women with an MPA of >0.60 was 9.6%. The WDDS-10 was significantly positively associated with MPA in each survey. Although the acceptable food group consumption threshold varied between 4 and 6 food groups across surveys, the threshold of 5 showed the highest performance in the pooled sample with good sensitivity (62%), very good specificity (81%), and percentage of correctly classified individuals (79%). Conclusions The WDDS-10 is a good predictor of dietary micronutrient adequacy among pregnant women aged 15–49 y in LMICs. Moreover, the threshold of 5 or more food groups for the MDD-W indicator may be extended to all women of reproductive age, regardless of their physiologic status.
A multi-sectoral community development intervention has a positive impact on diet quality and growth in school-age children in rural Nepal
Miller, Laurie C.; Neupane, Sumanta; Joshi, Neena; Lohani, Mahendra. 2024
Miller, Laurie C.; Neupane, Sumanta; Joshi, Neena; Lohani, Mahendra. 2024
Abstract | View
Poor diet quality (diet diversity and animal-source food [ASF] consumption) during childhood negatively affects growth, development, behaviour and physiologic function in later life. Relatively less is known about the impact of poor diet on the growth of school-age children compared to children <5 years of age, especially in low/middle-income countries. A better understanding of delivery strategies for effective interventions to improve diet and hence growth in school-age children is needed. A 36-month longitudinal controlled impact evaluation in rural Nepal assessed the nutrition and growth of children <5 years of age in families assigned via community clusters to full package intervention (community development, training in nutrition [during pregnancy and for children <5 years] and livestock husbandry), partial package (training only) or control (no inputs). Concurrent data were collected prospectively (baseline plus additional four rounds) on school-age children (5–8 years at baseline) in these households; the present study analysed findings in the cohort of school-age children seen at all five study visits (n = 341). Diet quality improved more in the full package school-age children compared to those in partial package or control households. full package children consumed more ASF (β +0.40 [CI 0.07,0.73], p < 0.05), more diverse diets (β +0.93 [CI 0.55,1.31], p < 0.001) and had better head circumference z-scores (β +0.21 [CI 0.07,0.35], p < 0.01) than control children. In conclusion, a multi-sectoral community development intervention was associated with improvements in diet and growth of school-age children in rural Nepal even though the intervention focused on the diet of children <5 years of age. The diet and growth of school-age children can be favourably influenced by community-level interventions, even indirectly.
CACCI country profile Nepal
International Food Policy Research Institute. 2024
International Food Policy Research Institute. 2024
Abstract | View
Nepal is a mountainous, landlocked, and low-middle-income country in the South Asian region. Agriculture is the principal occupation housing 69% of the labor force, followed by tourism. Nepal witnesses frequent soil erosion, landslides, flash floods, and droughts with lasting impacts on most livelihoods. A recent Asian Development Bank study estimates that before 2050, the country will lose 2.2 percent of its yearly GDP to climate change. Energy, agriculture, water resources, forestry, biodiversity, and the health sector are at high risk due to the negative impact of climate change. The National Adaptation Plan (NAP) 2021 – 2050 is the guiding document along with the Second and the Third National Communication to the UNFCCC. The Second Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) (Jan 2021 – Dec 2030) outlines the sectoral activity-based and policy targets and reduction in emissions in select sectors, all conditional on international support.
Remoteness, farm production, and dietary diversity in Nepal
Singh, Tushar; Kishore, Avinash; Alvi, Muzna. Washington, DC 2023
Singh, Tushar; Kishore, Avinash; Alvi, Muzna. Washington, DC 2023
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.137079
Abstract | View
This paper explores the relationship between agriculture, dietary diversity, and market access in Nepal, testing the complex causal chains involved, and the nuanced connections between production diversity and dietary diversity among smallholder farmers. While diversifying farm production could enhance dietary diversity, the case of Nepal indicates a varied and context specific relationship. Market access emerges as a crucial factor, often exerting a more significant impact on smallholder farm households than production diversity. Access to markets not only influences economic viability but also contributes directly to food and nutrition security, offering a practical solution to address dietary needs. Focusing on Nepal's diverse terrain, the study analyzes the interplay of remoteness, market access, irrigation availability, and complementary inputs in shaping farmers' decisions, providing valuable insights into sustainable agricultural strategies for improved dietary outcomes in low- and middle-income countries.
Evaluating preschool linear growth velocities: an interim reference illustrated in Nepal
Manohar, Swetha; Colantuoni, Elizabeth; Thorne-Lyman, Andrew Lucian; Shrestha, Binod; Adhikari, Ramesh Kant; KC, Angela; Bhattarai, Abhigyna; West Jr., Keith Parker
. 2023
Manohar, Swetha; Colantuoni, Elizabeth; Thorne-Lyman, Andrew Lucian; Shrestha, Binod; Adhikari, Ramesh Kant; KC, Angela; Bhattarai, Abhigyna; West Jr., Keith Parker
. 2023
DOI : 10.1017/S1368980023002409
Abstract | View
Objective:
An annualised linear growth velocity (LGV) reference can identify groups of children at risk of growing poorly. As a single velocity reference for all preschool ages does not exist, we present an interim tool, derived from published, normative growth studies, for detecting growth faltering, illustrating its use in Nepali preschoolers.
An annualised linear growth velocity (LGV) reference can identify groups of children at risk of growing poorly. As a single velocity reference for all preschool ages does not exist, we present an interim tool, derived from published, normative growth studies, for detecting growth faltering, illustrating its use in Nepali preschoolers.
Design:
The WHO Child Growth Velocity Standard was adapted to derive 12-month increments and conjoined to the Tanner-Whitehouse Height Velocity Reference data yielding contiguous preschool linear growth annualised velocities. Linear restricted cubic spline regressions were fit to generate sex-specific median and standard normal deviate velocities for ages 0 through 59 months. LGV Z-scores (LGVZ) were constructed, and growth faltering was defined as LGVZ < –2.
Setting:
Use of the reference was illustrated with data from Nepal’s Tarai region.
Participants:
Children contributing the existing growth references and a cohort of 4276 Nepali children assessed from 2013 to 2016.
Results:
Fitted, smoothed LGV reference curves displayed monotonically decreasing 12-month LGV, exemplified by male/female annual medians of 26·4/25·3, 12·1/12·7, 9·1/9·4, 7·7/7·8 and 7/7 cm/years, starting at 0, 12, 24, 36 and 48 months, respectively. Applying the referent, 31·1 %, 28·6 % and 29·3 % of Nepali children <6, 6–11 and 12–23 months of age, and ∼6 % of children 24–59 months, exhibited growth faltering. Under 24 months, faltering velocities were more prevalent in girls (34·4 %) than boys (25·3 %) (P < 0·05) but comparable (∼6 %) in older preschoolers.
Conclusions:
A LGV reference, concatenated from extant data, can identify preschool groups at-risk of growth faltering. Application and limitations are discussed.
What might be at stake? El Niño, global price shocks and food security in Nepal
Dorosh, Paul A.; Diao, Xinshen; Thurlow, James; Koirala, Pankaj; Timsina, Krishna; Krupnik, Timothy J.. Kathmandu, Nepal 2023
Dorosh, Paul A.; Diao, Xinshen; Thurlow, James; Koirala, Pankaj; Timsina, Krishna; Krupnik, Timothy J.. Kathmandu, Nepal 2023
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.137060
Abstract | View
Over the past decades, climate change has brought about numerous detrimental consequences for agricultural production in many countries, posing a substantial challenge to the economic well being of farmers while affecting national and international economies. Meteorological data specifically indicates that extreme weather events are occurring with unprecedented frequencies, intensities, and durations. This includes events associated with variations in the El Niño – Southern Oscillation of ocean currents, such as unusually dry weather in June through August in Nepal and other parts of South Asia. For example, during the El Niño year of 1992, a particularly severe drought occurred in Nepal, contributing in part to a 17.7 percent fall in rice production relative to the prior trend. Current indications are that another El Niño – related drought may already be underway in 2023 and into 2024. With the extreme weather events, global economies have experienced a number of recent shocks – for example those associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and conflicts in countries such as the Ukraine and Russia that are important exporters of agricultural inputs and goods. As such, this research note explores the implications of a range of agricultural productivity shocks including but not limited to those resulting from a possible El Niño-related drought in 2023 and extending into early 2024 (coinciding with the monsoon and post-monsoon seasons).
Reverting to traditional views of gender during times of relative deprivation: An experimental study in Nepal
Kosec, Katrina; Mo, Cecilia Hyunjung; You, Soosun; Boittin, Margaret. Washington, DC 2023
Kosec, Katrina; Mo, Cecilia Hyunjung; You, Soosun; Boittin, Margaret. Washington, DC 2023
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.137020
Abstract | View
Do individuals’ perceptions of their relative economic status affect their attitudes regarding gender roles in patriarchal societies? What role does hearing messages designed to increase support for women’s empowerment play in moderating these effects? Leveraging an original survey experiment in Nepal, we find that a prime conferring feelings of relative deprivation causes women to revert to traditional views of gender in economic decision-making; they become less supportive of women having equal control over household income, sharing house hold chores with men, and working outside the home. Women’s empowerment messaging does not attenuate these effects. Priming men to feel relatively deprived causes declines in gender equitable economic and political views, but women’s empowerment messaging nullifies these effects. The results suggest that among populations feeling relatively deprived, regressive gender norms may take hold. However, light-touch efforts to spur support for women’s empowerment may counter some reversion to traditional views of gender.
Proceedings of the Provincial Consultation Workshop on Food and Agriculture System Transformation in Nepal
Pradhan, Mamata; Palikhe, Aruna; Maharajan, Nanda; Adhikari, Madan; Pandey, Meena; Gupta, Shalini; Mohan, Anisha. New Delhi, India 2023
Pradhan, Mamata; Palikhe, Aruna; Maharajan, Nanda; Adhikari, Madan; Pandey, Meena; Gupta, Shalini; Mohan, Anisha. New Delhi, India 2023
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.137010
Abstract | View
The United States Government’s (USG) Global Food Security Strategy (GFSS) is an integrated whole-of-government approach that aims to end global hunger, poverty, and malnutrition through the Feed the Future initiative. Launched in 2010 across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean, Feed the Future aims to stimulate agriculture-led growth, resilience, and nutrition in countries with significant needs and opportunities for improvement. Through partnerships that invest in agriculture, build resilience, and improve nutrition, the USG has provided the basic dignity of food to millions of families worldwide. This initiative has delivered impressive results, including an estimated 23.4 million people lifted to above the poverty line, 3.4 million children no longer stunted, and an estimated 5.2 million families overcoming hunger. Additionally, Feed the Future has unlocked $3.5 billion in financing for food security (2011–2019), generated $13.7 billion in agricultural sales, and developed and deployed over 1,000 innovations.
However, the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, climate change, and international conflicts have significantly hampered the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As a result, the USG has developed the Global Food Security Strategy Refresh (GFSS-R) 2022–2026 that emphasizes the following five new areas of focus:
1. Equity and inclusion
2. An ambitious approach to climate change
3. Countering the long-term impacts of COVID-19
4. Employing systems thinking and working across the food system
5. Integration of conflict management, peacebuilding, and social cohesion
This strategy refresh has significant implications for the Feed the Future initiative; therefore, all Feed the Future countries have now embarked on refreshing the country strategy to incorporate new programs and initiatives aligning with the GFSS-R. The strategy involves implementing a multi-faceted whole-of-government approach, assignment of ownership, and empowerment of country leadership to lead and guide the efforts for progress. The strategy refresh invokes partnership with a wide range of stakeholders, and harnesses the advancement of science, technology, and innovation to achieve these objectives. The Feed the Future interventions in Nepal ensured a very close partnership with the Government of Nepal and emphasized greater involvement of the private sector. Nepal is one of the oldest and most successful Feed the Future countries. Although efforts have been made to ensure food security in Nepal, the country still faces nutritional deficiency. Agricultural productivity in Nepal is comparatively low, and most of the farmers are still engaged in subsistence farming. Further, Nepal is highly vulnerable to climate change, natural disasters, pests, and diseases, exacerbating food insecurity leading to the prevalence of nutrition deficiencies, especially among marginalized populations who rely heavily on agriculture for their livelihoods. The USAID mission in Nepal commissioned the IFPRI to support the drafting of the new GFSS Nepal Country Plan. In this regard, provincial consultation workshop has been planned in collaboration with IIDS to generate constructive ideas and feedback on the past and existing interventions implemented in Nepal under Feed the Future and identify a way forward for strengthening and leveraging food and agriculture system transformation in Nepal.
However, the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, climate change, and international conflicts have significantly hampered the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As a result, the USG has developed the Global Food Security Strategy Refresh (GFSS-R) 2022–2026 that emphasizes the following five new areas of focus:
1. Equity and inclusion
2. An ambitious approach to climate change
3. Countering the long-term impacts of COVID-19
4. Employing systems thinking and working across the food system
5. Integration of conflict management, peacebuilding, and social cohesion
This strategy refresh has significant implications for the Feed the Future initiative; therefore, all Feed the Future countries have now embarked on refreshing the country strategy to incorporate new programs and initiatives aligning with the GFSS-R. The strategy involves implementing a multi-faceted whole-of-government approach, assignment of ownership, and empowerment of country leadership to lead and guide the efforts for progress. The strategy refresh invokes partnership with a wide range of stakeholders, and harnesses the advancement of science, technology, and innovation to achieve these objectives. The Feed the Future interventions in Nepal ensured a very close partnership with the Government of Nepal and emphasized greater involvement of the private sector. Nepal is one of the oldest and most successful Feed the Future countries. Although efforts have been made to ensure food security in Nepal, the country still faces nutritional deficiency. Agricultural productivity in Nepal is comparatively low, and most of the farmers are still engaged in subsistence farming. Further, Nepal is highly vulnerable to climate change, natural disasters, pests, and diseases, exacerbating food insecurity leading to the prevalence of nutrition deficiencies, especially among marginalized populations who rely heavily on agriculture for their livelihoods. The USAID mission in Nepal commissioned the IFPRI to support the drafting of the new GFSS Nepal Country Plan. In this regard, provincial consultation workshop has been planned in collaboration with IIDS to generate constructive ideas and feedback on the past and existing interventions implemented in Nepal under Feed the Future and identify a way forward for strengthening and leveraging food and agriculture system transformation in Nepal.
Proceedings of the National Consultation Workshop on Food and Agriculture System Transformation in Nepal
Onta, Karuna; Pradhan, Mamata; Palikhe, Aruna; Maharjan, Nada; Mohan, Anisha. New Delhi, India 2023
Onta, Karuna; Pradhan, Mamata; Palikhe, Aruna; Maharjan, Nada; Mohan, Anisha. New Delhi, India 2023
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.137011
Abstract | View
The National Consultation Workshop on Food and Agriculture System Transformation in Nepal was held in Kathmandu, Nepal on May 18–19, 2023. The consultation was organized by International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and Institute for Integrated Development Studies (IIDS) with support from the United States Agency for International Development, Nepal (USAID/Nepal). This consultation was a part of generating insights / evidence for the United States Government’s (USG) Global Food Security Strategy-Refresh (GFSS-R) process. The US Government’s Global Food Security Strategy (GFSS) is an integrated whole-of-government approach that aims to end global hunger, poverty, and malnutrition through Feed the Future (FtF) initiatives. Several innovations in food and agriculture sectors have been successfully implemented in Nepal, being one of the oldest and most successful Feed the Future countries. However, more remains to be done to ensure food security in the nation. Farmers are still reliant on subsistence farming, leading to low agricultural productivity in the country. Rapid feminization in agriculture, owing to high outmigration and impact of climate change and natural disasters, has further burdened the poor, women, and marginalized groups in achieving food security. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant negative impact on the country’s economy, thwarting the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This National Consultation Workshop was designed with an objective to inform the GFSS-R 2022– 2026, with emphasis on i) equity and inclusion, ii) an ambitious approach to climate change, iii) countering the long-term impacts of COVID-19, iv) employing system thinking and working across food systems, and v) integration of conflict management, peace-building, and social cohesion. The Whole System in the Room (WSR) approach was applied to facilitate the workshop with 116 participants representing government, non-government organizations (NGOs), private sectors, and farmers from the federal, provincial, and local levels. Discussions during the consultation workshop were mostly centered on the proposed five themes: (i) Risk and Resilience Capacity, (ii) Food Systems Innovations, (iii) Markets and Trade, (iv) Food Systems Outputs and Outcomes, and (v) Food System Governance and Control. Additional sub-themes were identified to capture the status of each of the themes, and to address their gaps and constraints along with recommendations required to transform the food and agriculture system of Nepal. The participants have proposed specific prioritized recommendations from the list that was generated from the consultation. The summary of these prioritized recommendations for all five themes is given below.
Development of a Women’s Empowerment metric for Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WE-WASH)
Heckert, Jessica; Raghunathan, Kalyani; Myers, Emily; Ramani, Gayathri V.; Faas, Simone; Ferguson, Nathaniel; Seymour, Greg; Malapit, Hazel J.; Paz, Flor; Chiwasa, Febbie; Chilalika, Joan; Kamwaba-Mtethiwa, Jean; Chirwa, Gowokani Chijere; Simkoko, Abigail; Chilungo, Abdallah; Upadhyaya, Rachana; Pradhan, Meeta S.; Joshi, Nira; Shrestha, Sanish. Washington, DC 2023
Heckert, Jessica; Raghunathan, Kalyani; Myers, Emily; Ramani, Gayathri V.; Faas, Simone; Ferguson, Nathaniel; Seymour, Greg; Malapit, Hazel J.; Paz, Flor; Chiwasa, Febbie; Chilalika, Joan; Kamwaba-Mtethiwa, Jean; Chirwa, Gowokani Chijere; Simkoko, Abigail; Chilungo, Abdallah; Upadhyaya, Rachana; Pradhan, Meeta S.; Joshi, Nira; Shrestha, Sanish. Washington, DC 2023
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.137008
Abstract | View
There is a growing focus on gender-sensitive approaches and women’s empowerment in the water, sanitation, and hygiene sectors. At the same time, there is a lack of metrics to measure women’s empowerment in the WASH sector. Such metrics are important for understanding the types of programmatic interventions that are most needed for addressing women’s empowerment, as well as for assessing their impacts on women’s empowerment. In this report, we describe the development of a Women’s Empowerment metrics for Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WE-WASH). We collected data from individual women and men in 812 households in Malawi and 826 households in Nepal. Using the data, we develop 14 indicators and establish cutoff thresholds (i.e., whether the individual is empowered) in the areas of intrinsic, instrumental, and collective agency in WASH; instrumental and intrinsic agency in menstrual hygiene management; and the empowerment environment (or resources for empowerment). In each country, we observe differences in empowerment levels between women and men, that favor men on most outcomes. Notably, in both countries, we find that women are much less likely than men to contribute to WASH infrastructure decisions, and most women are spending an undue amount of time contributing to WASH-related labor. In Nepal especially, agency related to menstrual hygiene management is also a substantial area of disempowerment for women.
Why small-scale irrigation makes for good nutrition policy
Lefore, Nicole; Ringler, Claudia . 2023
Lefore, Nicole; Ringler, Claudia . 2023
Abstract | View
The Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Irrigation and Mechanization Systems (ILIMS), led by the University of Nebraska’s Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute (DWFI) (Nebraska-ILIMS), was fittingly launched at this year’s World Food Day with the theme “Water is Life, Water is Food. Leave No One Behind.”
The research program’s five areas of inquiry will develop socio-technical bundles that support uptake of mechanization and irrigation, strengthen institutions for natural resource governance and climate resilience, enable scaling of suitable technologies and support development of human resources. The fifth area of inquiry makes a leap from technology to nutrition and health, with the specific aim to “formulate strategies for nutrition-sensitive mechanization and irrigation that safeguard and enhance health and inclusivity.”
Crises and women’s access to agricultural information: Insights from India and Nepal during the COVID-19 pandemic
Alvi, Muzna; Barooah, Prapti; Gupta, Shweta; Saini, Smriti. Washington, DC 2023
Alvi, Muzna; Barooah, Prapti; Gupta, Shweta; Saini, Smriti. Washington, DC 2023
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.136951
Abstract | View
Strict lockdown measures implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic had extensive impacts on agriculture, and especially on women farmers. These effects were worsened by a lack of reliable and timely access to agricultural extension. This note summarizes findings from panel phone surveys conducted in India and Nepal on the impacts of lockdown measures on women's ability to access agricultural extension services and their perceived impact on agricultural productivity. We find that women's already limited access to formal extension services was further reduced during the pandemic, leading to greater reliance on informal social networks. In both countries, approximately 50 percent of farmers reported negative consequences on productivity due to the unavailability of information during the lockdown. We propose strategies to enhance the inclusivity and resilience of extension systems in India and Nepal in future crises, including through the use of group- and community-based approaches.
India's rice export restrictions and BIMSTEC countries: Implications and recommendations
Kamar, Abul; Roy, Devesh; Pradhan, Mamata; Saroj, Sunil. Washington, DC 2023
Kamar, Abul; Roy, Devesh; Pradhan, Mamata; Saroj, Sunil. Washington, DC 2023
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.136875
Abstract | View
The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) brings together five South Asian countries (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka) and two Southeast Asian countries (Myanmar and Thailand). Recent events have raised global concerns on food security, including for BIMSTEC countries; these events include Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative with Ukraine, India’s prohibition on the export of non-basmati white rice, and its 20 percent export duty on parboiled rice. This policy note spells out the likely impact of one of these events, that is, India’s restrictions on rice exports to its fellow BIMSTEC nations.
Trade moves food from surplus to deficit regions and hence is crucial for maintaining a stable food supply. Historically, the global supply of cereals has been stable (Bradford et al. 2022); this implies that trade (or the lack of it) can be directly mapped onto area-specific food insecurity. At the same time, shocks leading to trade disruption can pose serious challenges, particularly for countries with high import penetration in food.
Trade moves food from surplus to deficit regions and hence is crucial for maintaining a stable food supply. Historically, the global supply of cereals has been stable (Bradford et al. 2022); this implies that trade (or the lack of it) can be directly mapped onto area-specific food insecurity. At the same time, shocks leading to trade disruption can pose serious challenges, particularly for countries with high import penetration in food.
Policy preferences of experts seeking to raise and stabilise farm incomes in the Eastern Gangetic Plains
Cooper, Bethany; Crase, Lin; Burton, Michael; Rigby, Dan; Alam, Mohammad Jahangir; Kishore, Avinash . 2023
Cooper, Bethany; Crase, Lin; Burton, Michael; Rigby, Dan; Alam, Mohammad Jahangir; Kishore, Avinash . 2023
DOI : 10.1111/1467-8489.12511
Abstract | View
Poverty is endemic in the highly populated Eastern Gangetic Plains where agriculture is critical to more than half the population. However, the mechanisms to support agriculture for development are contested. For example, some have advocated a strong role for government support and assistance due to market weaknesses, while others have promoted the need for more market-oriented approaches. We use an elicitation process focussed on expert policymaking communities, employing stated preference techniques to explore these options. Differences in perceptions about the effectiveness of policies and their delivery are reported between countries, while also empirically examining the influence of the respondents' organisational background. The results show support for policies that improve farmers' access to inputs, especially when delivered by private sector actors. The research provides an important contribution to the literature on policies for agricultural development.
Availability of national polices, programmes, and survey-based coverage data to track nutrition interventions in South Asia
Neupane, Sumanta; Jangid, Manita; Scott, Samuel P.; Kim, Sunny S.; Murira, Zivai; Heidkamp, Rebecca; Carducci, Bianca; Menon, Purnima. 2024
Neupane, Sumanta; Jangid, Manita; Scott, Samuel P.; Kim, Sunny S.; Murira, Zivai; Heidkamp, Rebecca; Carducci, Bianca; Menon, Purnima. 2024
DOI : 10.1111/mcn.13555
Abstract | View
Progress to improve nutrition among women, infants and children in South Asia has fallen behind the pace needed to meet established global targets. Renewed political commitment and monitoring of nutrition interventions are required to improve coverage and quality of care. Our study aimed to assess the availability of national nutrition policies, programmes, and coverage data of nutrition interventions for women, children, and adolescents in eight countries in South Asia. We reviewed relevant policy and programme documents, examined questionnaires used in the most recent rounds of 20 nationally representative surveys, and generated an evidence gap map on the availability of policies, programmes, and survey data to track progress on coverage of globally recommended nutrition interventions. Current policies and programmes in South Asian countries addressed almost all the recommended nutrition interventions targeted at women, children, and adolescents. There was a strong policy focus in all countries, except Maldives, on health system platforms such as antenatal and postnatal care and child growth and development. Survey data on nutrition intervention coverage was most available in India and Nepal, while Bangladesh and Bhutan had the least. Though countries in South Asia have committed to national nutrition policies and strategies, national surveys had substantial data gaps, precluding progress tracking of nutrition intervention coverage. Greater attention and effort are needed for multisectoral collaboration to promote and strengthen nutrition data systems.
Agricultural mechanisation and gendered labour activities across sectors: Micro-evidence from multi-country farm household data
Takeshima, Hiroyuki. Article in press
Takeshima, Hiroyuki. Article in press
DOI : 10.1111/1477-9552.12564
Nepal’s agrifood system structure and drivers of transformation
Xinshen Diao; Ellis, Mia; Fang, Peixun; Pauw, Karl; Pradesha, Angga; Thurlow, James. Washington, DC 2023
Xinshen Diao; Ellis, Mia; Fang, Peixun; Pauw, Karl; Pradesha, Angga; Thurlow, James. Washington, DC 2023
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.136799
Abstract | View
Nepal experienced annual economic growth of 5.0 percent between 2009 and 2019 (World Bank 2023b). Thanks to a relatively slow population growth rate of 1.4 percent, the living standards of most Nepalis improved during this period; this allowed Nepal to graduate in 2019 from a low-income country to a lower-middle-income country. Nepal’s economy, however, was severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with GDP declining by 2.4 percent in 2020 and growing only modestly in 2021. Fortunately, the country was largely spared the adverse effects of global commodity market disruptions arising from the Russia-Ukraine war that started in 2022 and from the 2023 global recession (Arndt et al. 2023; Diao and Thurlow 2023). Nepal’s GDP growth is now projected to reach 5.1 percent in 2023 and 4.9 percent in 2024 (World Bank 2023a); this suggests that the economy is resuming its pre-pandemic growth trajectory. Agriculture remains an important sector, accounting for 25 percent of Nepal’s GDP and 30 percent of its jobs. In this brief, we further unpack Nepal’s historical and projected economic growth trajectory in order to better understand the role of agriculture, and of the broader agrifood system (AFS), in the performance and transformation of its economy.
Sure bets or risky gambles? Understanding popular support for post-conflict constitutions
Kyle, Jordan; Resnick, Danielle. 2023
Kyle, Jordan; Resnick, Danielle. 2023
Abstract | View
What shapes mass attitudes towards constitutional reforms in post-conflict contexts? Constitutional reform has long been a priority for states emerging from conflict, where there is a need to rectify the marginalization of certain groups, define the scopes of authority of different institutions, and delineate power-sharing arrangements. Yet, because constitutional reforms are often led by political elites, we typically lack insights into the views of the broader populace.
Building popular support for post-conflict constitutions: Lessons from Nepal
Kyle, Jordan; Resnick, Danielle. 2023
Kyle, Jordan; Resnick, Danielle. 2023
Abstract | View
In early 2023, the United Nations announced that the world is facing the highest number of violent conflicts since World War II, with a majority of these being civil conflicts. Historically, ending civil conflict and fostering democratic transitions has involved constitutional reforms that address the grievances that originally sparked violence. In fact, over 100 peace agreements signed between 1989 and 2020 have included provisions for constitutional reform. However, the period of negotiating constitutional reforms is particularly precarious in such settings and can lead to further destabilization if too many groups’ expectations are not met.
More is not enough: High quantity and high quality antenatal care are both needed to prevent low birthweight in South Asia
Neupane, Sumanta; Scott, Samuel; Piwoz, Ellen; Kim, Sunny S.; Menon, Purnima; Nguyen, Phuong Hong. 2023
Neupane, Sumanta; Scott, Samuel; Piwoz, Ellen; Kim, Sunny S.; Menon, Purnima; Nguyen, Phuong Hong. 2023
DOI : 10.1371/journal.pgph.0001991
Abstract | View
Antenatal care (ANC) is an opportunity to receive interventions that can prevent low birth weight (LBW). We sought to 1) estimate LBW prevalence and burden in South Asia, 2) describe the number of ANC visits (quantity) and interventions received (quality), and 3) explore associations between ANC quantity, quality and LBW. We used Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data from Afghanistan (2015), Bangladesh (2018), India (2016), Nepal (2016), Pakistan (2018) and Sri Lanka (2016) (n = 146,284 children <5y). Women were categorized as follows: 1) low quantity (<4 ANC visits) and low quality (<5 of 10 interventions received during ANC), 2) low quantity and high quality (≥5 of 10 interventions), 3) high quantity (≥4 visits) and low quality, 4) high quantity and high quality. We used fixed effect logistic regressions to examine associations between ANC quality/quantity and LBW (<2500 grams). LBW prevalence was highest in Pakistan (23%) and India (18%), with India accounting for two-thirds of the regional burden. Only 8% of women in Afghanistan received high quantity and high quality ANC, compared to 42–46% in Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan, 65% in Nepal and 92% in Sri Lanka. Compared to the low quantity/quality reference group, children of women with high quantity/quality ANC had lower odds of LBW in India (Adjusted Odds Ratio 0.84, 95% CI 0.78–0.89), Nepal (0.57, 0.35–0.94), Pakistan (0.45, 0.23–0.86), and Sri Lanka (0.73, 0.57–0.92). Low quantity but high quality ANC was protective in India (0.90, 0.84–0.96), Afghanistan (0.53, 0.27–1.05) and Pakistan (0.49, 0.23–1.05). High quantity but low quality ANC was protective in Sri Lanka (0.76, 0.61–0.93). Neither frequent ANC without appropriate interventions nor infrequent ANC with appropriate interventions are sufficient to prevent LBW in most South Asian countries, though quality may be more important than quantity. Consistent measurement of interventions during ANC is needed.
Assessing multicountry programs through a “Reach, Benefit, Empower, Transform” lens
Quisumbing, Agnes; Gerli, Beatrice; Faas, Simone; Heckert, Jessica; Malapit, Hazel; McCarron, Catherine; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth; Paz, Florencia. 2023
Quisumbing, Agnes; Gerli, Beatrice; Faas, Simone; Heckert, Jessica; Malapit, Hazel; McCarron, Catherine; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth; Paz, Florencia. 2023
DOI : 10.1016/j.gfs.2023.100685
Assessing the hidden burden and costs of COVID-19 pandemic in South Asia: Implications for health and well-being of women, children and adolescents
Owais, Aatekah; Rizvi, Arjumand; Jawwad, Muhammad; Horton, Susan; Das, Jai K.; Merritt, Catherine; Moreno, Ralfh; Asfaw, Atnafu G.; Rutter, Paul; Nguyen, Phuong Hong; Menon, Purnima; Bhutta, Zulfiqar A.. 2023
Owais, Aatekah; Rizvi, Arjumand; Jawwad, Muhammad; Horton, Susan; Das, Jai K.; Merritt, Catherine; Moreno, Ralfh; Asfaw, Atnafu G.; Rutter, Paul; Nguyen, Phuong Hong; Menon, Purnima; Bhutta, Zulfiqar A.. 2023
DOI : 10.1371/journal.pgph.0001567
Abstract | View
The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected vulnerable populations. With its intensity expected to be cyclical over the foreseeable future, and much of the impact estimates still modeled, it is imperative that we accurately assess the impact to date, to help with the process of targeted rebuilding of services. We collected data from administrative health information systems in six South Asian countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka), to determine essential health services coverage disruptions between January–December 2020, and January–June 2021, compared to the same calendar months in 2019, and estimated the impact of this disruption on maternal and child mortality using the Lives Saved Tool. We also modelled impact of prolonged school closures on continued enrollment, as well as potential sequelae for the cohort of girls who have likely dropped out. Coverage of key maternal and child health interventions, including antenatal care and immunizations, decreased by up to 60%, with the largest disruptions observed between April and June 2020. This was followed by a period of recovery from July 2020 to March 2021, but a reversal of most of these gains in April/May 2021, likely due to the delta variant-fueled surge in South Asia at the same time. We estimated that disruption of essential health services between January 2020 and June 2021 potentially resulted in an additional 19,000 maternal and 317,000 child deaths, an increase of 19% and 13% respectively, compared to 2019. Extended school closures likely resulted in 9 million adolescents dropping out permanently, with 40% likely being from poorest households, resulting in decreased lifetime earnings. A projected increase in early marriages for girls who dropped out could result in an additional 500,000 adolescent pregnancies, 153,000 low birthweight births, and 27,000 additional children becoming stunted by age two years. To date, the increase in maternal and child mortality due to health services disruption has likely exceeded the overall number of COVID-19 deaths in South Asia. The indirect effects of the pandemic were disproportionately borne by the most vulnerable populations, and effects are likely to be long-lasting, permanent and in some cases inter-generational, unless policies aimed at alleviating these impacts are instituted at scale and targeted to reach the poorest of the poor. There are also implications for future pandemic preparedness.
Measuring changes in the Nepal’s agri-food system
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Washington, DC 2023
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Washington, DC 2023
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.136669
Abstract | View
Transformation of the agri-food system (AFS) is a leading pathway to achieve the USG Global Food Security Strategy Objective 1 of “Inclusive agriculture-led growth”. The AFS encompasses the primary agricultural sector, as well as all upstream and downstream agriculture-related activities. An expansion of the AFS’s off-farm components is central to the process of agricultural transformation and is strongly associated with economic development. The Percent change in value-added in the agri-food system (AgGDP+) and Employment in the agri-food system (AgEMP+) indicators are useful to track this process.
Data issues in analyzing agri-food trade in BIMSTEC: Challenges and recommendations
Saroj, Sunil; Roy, Devesh; Kamar, Abul; Pradhan, Mamata. Washington, DC 2023
Saroj, Sunil; Roy, Devesh; Kamar, Abul; Pradhan, Mamata. Washington, DC 2023
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.136645
Abstract | View
The focus of research on international trade has recently shifted from industries and countries to firms. Firm heterogeneity is shown to be a determinant of trade at both the intensive margin (increase exports per firm/product) and extensive margins (the number of firms exporting – new products, new partners, new varieties, and new prices). It is now widely accepted that exporting firms are larger, comparatively productive, more skilled, and capital-intensive, and pay higher wages than non-exporting firms.
The innovations in international trade literature that explains both the emergence as well as levels and the nature of trade flows through value chain integration necessitates examining trade-based exchanges at the highest possible levels of product disaggregation. Developments in trade theory emphasize that it is individual firms not countries that trade and analysis needs to incorporate firm characteristics in decisions and ability for exporting and importing. Firms are the appropriate unit of analysis for trade flows. It helps several paradoxes once the import of firm heterogeneity is understood.
Despite the substantive importance of granular level data and the significant level of disaggregated product-level bilateral trade flow data and enhanced computing power that are becoming available, most studies have tended to rely on analysis with high level of aggregation. Recent research on firm heterogeneity in international trade highlights the importance of extensive margins i.e., new products, new partners, new varieties, and cumulative of these i.e., new prices in trade patterns and firms' responses to trade liberalization and other policy changes. However, the high dimensionality of the data and the large number of responses to changes can easily overwhelm researchers. Additionally, bigger data sets may contain more noise, which can mask important systematic patterns. In analysis of trade flows, notwithstanding the rising incidence of differentiated products (varieties) and value chains that transcend national boundaries, methods in agri-food trade analysis in particular have not kept pace in terms of empirical methods and suitable data.
The innovations in international trade literature that explains both the emergence as well as levels and the nature of trade flows through value chain integration necessitates examining trade-based exchanges at the highest possible levels of product disaggregation. Developments in trade theory emphasize that it is individual firms not countries that trade and analysis needs to incorporate firm characteristics in decisions and ability for exporting and importing. Firms are the appropriate unit of analysis for trade flows. It helps several paradoxes once the import of firm heterogeneity is understood.
Despite the substantive importance of granular level data and the significant level of disaggregated product-level bilateral trade flow data and enhanced computing power that are becoming available, most studies have tended to rely on analysis with high level of aggregation. Recent research on firm heterogeneity in international trade highlights the importance of extensive margins i.e., new products, new partners, new varieties, and cumulative of these i.e., new prices in trade patterns and firms' responses to trade liberalization and other policy changes. However, the high dimensionality of the data and the large number of responses to changes can easily overwhelm researchers. Additionally, bigger data sets may contain more noise, which can mask important systematic patterns. In analysis of trade flows, notwithstanding the rising incidence of differentiated products (varieties) and value chains that transcend national boundaries, methods in agri-food trade analysis in particular have not kept pace in terms of empirical methods and suitable data.
COVID-19 and the economic recovery in South Asia: Economywide modeling scenarios for Bangladesh and Nepal
Dorosh, Paul A.; Pauw, Karl; Pradesha, Angga; Thurlow, James. 2023
Dorosh, Paul A.; Pauw, Karl; Pradesha, Angga; Thurlow, James. 2023
DOI : 10.1002/aepp.13355
Abstract | View
We use economywide models to examine the economic recovery from COVID-19 shocks in Bangladesh and Nepal during 2020–2026. Declining labor productivity, capital underutilization, consumption shifts, and international investment shocks had significant and differential sectoral and country-level impacts in these countries. By 2026, GDP will be 6.9% and 13.9% lower in Bangladesh and Nepal, respectively, and the two countries will have an additional 3.3 million people in poverty compared to a no-COVID baseline. Regaining economic and welfare losses will require substantial investments in key industrial, agricultural, and tourism sectors, although tough policy decisions will be required given high levels of public debt.
Unlocking agricultural trade potential in the BIMSTEC region: Policy challenges and implications
Kamar, Abul; Roy, Devesh. Washington, DC 2023
Kamar, Abul; Roy, Devesh. Washington, DC 2023
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.136626
Abstract | View
The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional organization that comprises seven nations, five of which are from South Asia (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka) and two from Southeast Asia (Myanmar and Thailand). BIMSTEC aims to increase trade including agri-food products to much higher levels than its historical low values lying much below potential. In 2020, intra-BIMSTEC trade accounted for a mere 6.15% of the total trade among its member countries. In contrast, intra-ASEAN trade made up around 23% of the total trade within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). These figures highlight the significant room for growth
in intra-regional trade among BIMSTEC member countries. Importantly the low share of intra BIMSTEC trade is not due to greater integration with supra-BIMSTEC partners. This policy note seeks to spell out some of the key agricultural trade policy-related challenges in the BIMSTEC region and their implications for economic integration in the area.
in intra-regional trade among BIMSTEC member countries. Importantly the low share of intra BIMSTEC trade is not due to greater integration with supra-BIMSTEC partners. This policy note seeks to spell out some of the key agricultural trade policy-related challenges in the BIMSTEC region and their implications for economic integration in the area.
Is greater decisionmaking power of women associated with reduced gender discrimination in South Asia?
Smith, Lisa C.; Byron, Elizabeth. Washington, DC 2005
Smith, Lisa C.; Byron, Elizabeth. Washington, DC 2005
Abstract | View
To investigate this issue, the study draws on Demographic and Health Survey data collected during the 1990s in four countries: Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. The main empirical technique employed is multivariate regression analysis with statistical tests for significant differences in effects for girl and boy children. A total of 30,334 women and 33,316 children under three years old are included in the analysis. The study concludes that, for the South Asia region as a whole, an increase in women’s decisionmaking power relative to men’s, if substantial, would be an effective force for reducing discrimination against girl children.
Understanding local food systems in South Asia: An assessment approach and design
Gupta, Manavi; Kishore, Avinash; Scott, Samuel; Chakraborty, Shreya; Chellattan, Prakashan Veettil; Choudhury, Samira; Krupnik, Timothy; Kumar, Neha; Neupane, Sumanta; Patwardhan, Sharvari; Sununtnasuk, Celeste; Urfels, Anton; Menon, Purnima. Washington, DC 2022
Gupta, Manavi; Kishore, Avinash; Scott, Samuel; Chakraborty, Shreya; Chellattan, Prakashan Veettil; Choudhury, Samira; Krupnik, Timothy; Kumar, Neha; Neupane, Sumanta; Patwardhan, Sharvari; Sununtnasuk, Celeste; Urfels, Anton; Menon, Purnima. Washington, DC 2022
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.136543
Abstract | View
Home to one-quarter of humanity—one-fifth of whom are youth—South Asia has the world’s largest concentration of poverty and malnutrition (1–3). Despite producing one-quarter of the world’s consumed food, the region’s agrifood systems face formidable challenges in producing an adequate and affordable supply of the diverse foods needed for sustainable healthy diets (4,5). Unhealthy food consumption is rising, and farming systems are threatened by unsustainable groundwater withdrawal due to poorly developed food and energy policies. In addition, South Asia’s farmers are both contributors and victims of climate change and extreme weather, which contributes to rural out-migration—particularly of youth—resulting in rising labor scarcity and increased production costs.
TAFSSA (Transforming Agrifood Systems in South Asia), a CGIAR Regional Integrated Initiative, aims to address these challenges by delivering actionable evidence and scalable innovations across these regions through a coordinated program of research and engagement from farmer to consumer.
One of the roadblocks to addressing these challenges is the lack of credible and high-resolution data on food systems in the region. The TAFSSA food systems assessment aims to provide a reliable, accessible and integrated evidence base that links farm production, market access, dietary patterns, climate risk responses, and natural resource management in Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan. It is intended to be a multi-year assessment.
TAFSSA (Transforming Agrifood Systems in South Asia), a CGIAR Regional Integrated Initiative, aims to address these challenges by delivering actionable evidence and scalable innovations across these regions through a coordinated program of research and engagement from farmer to consumer.
One of the roadblocks to addressing these challenges is the lack of credible and high-resolution data on food systems in the region. The TAFSSA food systems assessment aims to provide a reliable, accessible and integrated evidence base that links farm production, market access, dietary patterns, climate risk responses, and natural resource management in Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan. It is intended to be a multi-year assessment.
Availability of data on diets in South Asia: A data availability assessment for Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan
Scott, Samuel; Neupane, Sumanta; Menon, Purnima; Kishore, Avinash; Krupnik, Timothy. Washington, DC 2022
Scott, Samuel; Neupane, Sumanta; Menon, Purnima; Kishore, Avinash; Krupnik, Timothy. Washington, DC 2022
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.136544
Abstract | View
ABOUT THIS NOTE
This research note presents findings on the availability of diet-related data in publiclyavailable population-based surveys conducted in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan in the last decade. It is intended to be used by researchers and policymakers to understand the data landscape and identify measurement priorities for future surveys.
KEY FINDINGS
• Data on diets for older children and adolescents are captured less frequently than
for younger children and women of reproductive age.
• Data are mostly available on food group consumption and for infants and young
children; data on consumption of unhealthy foods is poor.
• Few surveys capture quantity of foods consumed; estimating nutrient intake from
population-based surveys is therefore not possible.
• Only Bangladesh currently has large-scale publicly available and repeated rounds of
data on dietary intakes for multiple age groups.
• Dietary data are essential to shape public policy on nutrition; financial and technical
investments are needed to scale up data availability in South Asia.
This research note presents findings on the availability of diet-related data in publiclyavailable population-based surveys conducted in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan in the last decade. It is intended to be used by researchers and policymakers to understand the data landscape and identify measurement priorities for future surveys.
KEY FINDINGS
• Data on diets for older children and adolescents are captured less frequently than
for younger children and women of reproductive age.
• Data are mostly available on food group consumption and for infants and young
children; data on consumption of unhealthy foods is poor.
• Few surveys capture quantity of foods consumed; estimating nutrient intake from
population-based surveys is therefore not possible.
• Only Bangladesh currently has large-scale publicly available and repeated rounds of
data on dietary intakes for multiple age groups.
• Dietary data are essential to shape public policy on nutrition; financial and technical
investments are needed to scale up data availability in South Asia.
Pollinator deficits, food consumption, and consequences for human health: A modeling study
Smith, Matthew; Mueller, Nathaniel D.; Springmann, Marco; Sulser, Timothy B.; Garibaldi, Lucas A.; Gerber, James; Wiebe, Keith D.; Myers, Samuel S.. 2022
Smith, Matthew; Mueller, Nathaniel D.; Springmann, Marco; Sulser, Timothy B.; Garibaldi, Lucas A.; Gerber, James; Wiebe, Keith D.; Myers, Samuel S.. 2022
DOI : 10.1289/EHP10947
Abstract | View
Background: Animal pollination supports agricultural production for many healthy foods, such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes, that provide key nutrients and protect against noncommunicable disease. Today, most crops receive suboptimal pollination because of limited abundance and diversity of pollinating insects. Animal pollinators are currently suffering owing to a host of direct and indirect anthropogenic pressures: land-use change, intensive farming techniques, harmful pesticides, nutritional stress, and climate change, among others. Objectives: We aimed to model the impacts on current global human health from insufficient pollination via diet.
Migration and gender dynamics of irrigation governance in Nepal
Meinzen-Dick, Ruth Suseela; Pradhan, Prachanda; Zhang, Wei. 2022
Meinzen-Dick, Ruth Suseela; Pradhan, Prachanda; Zhang, Wei. 2022
DOI : 10.5334/ijc.1165
Abstract | View
Nepal has a long history of irrigation, including government and farmer-managed irrigation systems that are labor- and skill-intensive. Widespread male migration has important effects on Nepalese society. How institutions such as Water Users’ Associations (WUAs) respond and adapt, is therefore critical to the understanding of rural transformation and the likely impact on gender equality, food production, and rural livelihoods. This paper examines the effects of male migration on institutional change in WUAs, women’s roles, technological change, and outcomes affecting effectiveness of irrigation systems based on a mixed methods study, combining a phone survey of 336 WUA leaders from all provinces in Nepal with qualitative data from case studies in 10 irrigation systems. Results indicate WUAs have adapted rules to increase women’s participation, and to monetize the contributions for maintenance. Women exercise agency in whether and how to interact with WUAs. Mechanization has reduced the need for some male labor, though the ability to mechanize is limited by hilly terrain and small plot sizes. Overall, systems are adapting to male migration, with relatively low idling of land or labor shortages causing deterioration of the systems, though there are concerns with the high levels of women’s labor burdens.
Irrigation systems management in Nepal: Women’s strategies in response to migration-induced challenges
Suhardiman, Diana; Raut, Manita; Pradhan, Prachanda; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth Suseela. 2023
Suhardiman, Diana; Raut, Manita; Pradhan, Prachanda; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth Suseela. 2023
Abstract | View
Large-scale male outmigration has placed new pressures on both men and women, especially regarding labour division in farm households and involvement in Water Users Associations (WUAs). This paper illustrates how the interplay between existing gender norms, male migration, remittances, and alternative sources of male labour influence women’s agency and WUA decision-making processes in Nepal. Despite official quotas aimed at promoting women’s participation in WUAs, some women prefer to monetise membership contributions rather than actively engage with the organisation. Others pursue strategic interests through changing WUA rules and, in the process, bringing about an adjustment of cultural norms. Women’s agency is derived not only from their knowledge of irrigation systems features and their ability to manage them; it is also related to their ability to learn new organisational skills and to apply them in the WUA context to negotiate and mobilise rules and resources. Women (re)shape their WUA involvement in conjunction with their farming strategies, their view of the WUA’s functionality, and whether they perceive the involvement as either an opportunity for productive engagement or as merely an increase in their already heavy workload.
Trajectories of child growth, child development, and home child-rearing quality during the COVID pandemic in rural Nepal
Miller, Laurie C.; Neupane, Sumanta; Joshi, Neena; Lohani, Mahendra; Shrestha, Bhola. 2023
Miller, Laurie C.; Neupane, Sumanta; Joshi, Neena; Lohani, Mahendra; Shrestha, Bhola. 2023
DOI : 10.1111/cch.13078
Abstract | View
Background: Children, especially disadvantaged children in poor countries, were expected to be among the “biggest victims” of the Covid pandemic. Economic burdens, decreased nutritious foods, reduced medical care, school closures, and ill-health or death of family members were predicted to increase child undernutrition and developmental delays, and diminish home child-rearing quality.
Methods: A planned nutrition intervention could not be implemented due to Covid restrictions. However, three surveys (pre-Covid [December 2019], July 2021, and September 2021) in 280 Nepali households (309 parent-dyads, 368 children, 6-66 months old) collected demographics, child anthropometry and development (Ages and Stages Questionnaire-3 [ASQ-3]), and home child-rearing quality (caregiver engagement, learning resources, adult supervision [UNICEF’s Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey]). Mixed-effect regression models adjusted for household (wealth, maternal education) and child factors (age, gender) and survey round.
Results: Height, mid-upper-arm and head circumference measurements improved over time. Total ASQ-3 score did not change: communication scores increased while fine motor and personal-social scores declined. Girls’ growth and development worsened more than boys. Caregiver engagement (especially mothers’) generally declined, but learning resource availability increased. More children were left unsupervised at Round 2 than Round 1 or 3.
Conclusions: In this sample, some aspects of child growth, development, and home child-rearing quality improved while others declined. Better understanding of these changes in child well-being and the family environment during the pandemic could provide insight on how to protect children during future crises.
Methods: A planned nutrition intervention could not be implemented due to Covid restrictions. However, three surveys (pre-Covid [December 2019], July 2021, and September 2021) in 280 Nepali households (309 parent-dyads, 368 children, 6-66 months old) collected demographics, child anthropometry and development (Ages and Stages Questionnaire-3 [ASQ-3]), and home child-rearing quality (caregiver engagement, learning resources, adult supervision [UNICEF’s Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey]). Mixed-effect regression models adjusted for household (wealth, maternal education) and child factors (age, gender) and survey round.
Results: Height, mid-upper-arm and head circumference measurements improved over time. Total ASQ-3 score did not change: communication scores increased while fine motor and personal-social scores declined. Girls’ growth and development worsened more than boys. Caregiver engagement (especially mothers’) generally declined, but learning resource availability increased. More children were left unsupervised at Round 2 than Round 1 or 3.
Conclusions: In this sample, some aspects of child growth, development, and home child-rearing quality improved while others declined. Better understanding of these changes in child well-being and the family environment during the pandemic could provide insight on how to protect children during future crises.
Child labor and school decisions in urban and rural areas
Ersado, Lire. Washington, DC 2003
Ersado, Lire. Washington, DC 2003
Abstract | View
"Child labor is widespread in developing countries, but its causes are debatable. Poverty is considered the primary reason, but many theoretical and empirical analyses show that other factors, such as lack of access to credit, poor school quality, and labor market opportunities play equal or even greater roles in the decision to have children work. This study surveys the existing literature and, taking into account urban-rural divides, aims to shed light on the debate with empirical evidence from Nepal, Peru, and Zimbabwe. We find that while poverty drives child work and schooling in rural areas, it does not appear to significantly influence such decisions in urban areas. This suggests that policies such as trade sanctions or a ban on child labor in rural areas could have an adverse effect as child labor decisions in such areas are more likely a response to poverty and subsistence requirements. Similarly, improving access to credit has greater potential for alleviating child labor and enhancing school enrollment in rural than urban areas, particularly in Nepal and Zimbabwe. On the other hand, the availability of alternative childcare options appears to considerably decrease child labor and create conditions for higher school attendance rates in urban than in rural areas. Finally, evidence from all three countries indicates that efforts to bolster adult educational levels and wages will help curb the prevalence and intensity of child labor and improve the likelihood that children stay in school." -- Author's Abstract
The lost opportunity from insufficient pollinators for global food supplies and human health
Smith, Matthew R.; Mueller, Nathaniel D.; Springmann, Marco; Sulser, Timothy; Garibaldi, Lucas A.; Gerber, James; Wiebe, Keith D.; Myers, Samuel S.. 2022
Smith, Matthew R.; Mueller, Nathaniel D.; Springmann, Marco; Sulser, Timothy; Garibaldi, Lucas A.; Gerber, James; Wiebe, Keith D.; Myers, Samuel S.. 2022
DOI : 10.1016/S2542-5196(22)00265-0
Abstract | View
Animal pollination supports agricultural production for many healthy foods, such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes, which provide key nutrients and protect against non-communicable diseases. Today, most crops receive suboptimal pollination because of reduced abundance and diversity of pollinating insects. We modelled the effects on current global human health from insufficient pollination by quantifying the pollinator-related crop yield gap and lost consumption of pollination-dependent foods by country and region, after accounting for global trade, economic behaviours, and food waste. We also estimated the lost economic value of crop production for the following three diverse case-study countries: Honduras, Nepal, and Nigeria.
Data availability on Nutrition Sensitive Social Protection Programs (NSSPPs) across population-based surveys in South Asia
Neupane, Sumanta; Scott, Samuel; Jangid, Manita; Shapleigh, Sara; Kim, Sunny S.; Akseer, Nadia; Heidkamp, Rebecca A.; Menon, Purnima. Washington, DC 2022
Neupane, Sumanta; Scott, Samuel; Jangid, Manita; Shapleigh, Sara; Kim, Sunny S.; Akseer, Nadia; Heidkamp, Rebecca A.; Menon, Purnima. Washington, DC 2022
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.136412
Abstract | View
Social safety nets (SSN) are cash or in-kind/food transfer programs designed to help individuals and households cope with chronic poverty, destitution, and vulnerability (World Bank, 2018). Some of these social protection programs include conditions or additional interventions that can enhance their impact on nutrition. Examples include attending health and nutrition services, targeting households with nutritionally vulnerable members (e.g., pregnant, and lactating women, children under 24 months), administration of transfers in a ender-sensitive manner, distributing transfers during periods of seasonal or climatic vulnerability, and focusing on emergencies (Ruel & Alderman, 2013; Alderman, 2016) developed a framework that identifies which of the World Bank ASPIRE categories of social safety nets have the potential to be nutrition sensitive. These are captured in six broad categories with multiple program subcategories (Table 1).
The Ukraine war and its food security implications in Nepal
Bhatta, Astha. Washington, DC 2022
Bhatta, Astha. Washington, DC 2022
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.136379
Abstract | View
Though declining in importance as Nepal undergoes structural transformation, agriculture still accounts for 23.9% of GDP and one in five people was employed in the sector with a larger share of women (33 percent) employed in agriculture than men (14.7 percent) (Labor survey of 2017-18). While not directly employed in agriculture, approximately 60 percent of the population has some engagement with the sector.
Does cash crop adoption detract from childcare provision?
Paolisso, Michael J.; Hallman, Kelly; Haddad, Lawrence James; Regmi, Shibesh. Washington, DC 2001
Paolisso, Michael J.; Hallman, Kelly; Haddad, Lawrence James; Regmi, Shibesh. Washington, DC 2001
Abstract | View
Using data from fieldwork conducted in Nepal, the impact of a project designed to commercialize vegetables and fruits — the Vegetable and Fruit Cash Crop Program (VFC)— on male and female time allocation is examined. Using a rigorous time collection methodology, activity patterns in households that adopt and do not adopt the new technology are profiled. Very few studies examine changing activity patterns of both men and women in response to commercialization of agriculture. Though women’s time is valuable in agriculture, it is also valuable in the production of child nutrition. The recent evolution in thinking as to the causes of child malnutrition—the three pillars being food intake, health, and time to care—warrants further analyses of the time trade-offs that women and men face when adopting new agricultural technologies. The VFC program was successful at targeting both men and women farmers in the sense that household participation resulted in increased head male and head female time spent growing vegetables and fruits. The responses varied, however, by the number of preschool children in residence. In households with more than one preschooler, the time trade-offs associated with VFC participation were not sizeable for the care of children under 5 years. In households with just one preschooler, the trade-offs were more important. In these households, preschoolers received less care from the male and female heads, who spent more time in both the cash crop and in the food crop. In these same households, the nonwork (leisure) time of men increased as a result of VFC participation, but for women, leisure time was unaffected. Thus in the short run, there is perhaps scope for protecting childcare time by reducing time to leisure. In the medium run, benefits may well accrue to unborn preschoolers if VFC participation empowers women.
Consequences of deforestation for women's time allocation, agricultural production, and nutrition in hill areas of Nepal
Kumar, Shubh K.; Hotchkiss, David. Washington, DC 1988
Kumar, Shubh K.; Hotchkiss, David. Washington, DC 1988
Community forestry in Nepal
Ojha, Hemant; Persha, Lauren; Chhatre, Ashwini. Washington, DC 2009
Ojha, Hemant; Persha, Lauren; Chhatre, Ashwini. Washington, DC 2009
Abstract | View
The Community Forestry Program in Nepal is a global innovation in participatory environmental governance that encompasses well-defined policies, institutions, and practices. The program addresses the twin goals of forest conservation and poverty reduction. As more than 70 percent of Nepal's population depends on agriculture for their livelihood, community management of forests has been a critically important intervention. Through legislative developments and operational innovations over three decades, the program has evolved from a protection-oriented, conservation-focused agenda to a much more broad-based strategy for forest use, enterprise development, and livelihood improvement. By April 2009, one-third of Nepal�s population was participating in the program, directly managing more than one-fourth of Nepal�s forest area. The immediate livelihood benefits derived by rural households bolster strong collective action wherein local communities actively and sustainably manage forest resources. Community forests also became the source of diversified investment capital and raw material for new market-oriented livelihoods. Community forestry shows traits of political, financial, and ecological sustainability, including emergence of a strong legal and regulatory framework, and robust civil society institutions and networks. However, a continuing challenge is to ensure equitable distribution of benefits to women and marginalized groups. Lessons for replication emphasize experiential learning, establishment of a strong civil society network, flexible regulation to encourage diverse institutional modalities, and responsiveness of government and policymakers to a multistakeholder collaborative learning process.
Does the UN Joint Program for Rural Women’s Economic Empowerment (JP RWEE) deliver on its empowerment objectives?
Quisumbing, Agnes; Gerli, Beatrice; Faas, Simone; Heckert, Jessica; Malapit, Hazel J.; McCarron, Catherine; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth Suseela; Paz, Florencia. Washington, DC 2022
Quisumbing, Agnes; Gerli, Beatrice; Faas, Simone; Heckert, Jessica; Malapit, Hazel J.; McCarron, Catherine; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth Suseela; Paz, Florencia. Washington, DC 2022
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.136302
Abstract | View
This paper compares the empowerment impacts of the UN Joint Program for Rural Women’s Economic Empowerment (JP RWEE) in Ethiopia, Niger, Nepal, and Kyrgyzstan using the Abbreviated Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (A-WEAI). We assess the extent of empowerment and gender parity, and decompose the sources of disempowerment, separately for men and women and for beneficiary and control groups. We then estimate program impacts on A-WEAI and its component indicators and assess whether estimated impacts are consistent with the activities implemented by the program. We interpret the quantitative results in the light of the qualitative studies undertaken as part of the impact evaluation. Despite the diversity in country and cultural contexts, in all four countries, women are more disempowered than men, although large proportions of men are themselves disempowered. Excessive workload is the most common major contributor to disempowerment, and so is lack of group membership. The program had positive impacts on aggregate empowerment measures for program participants in Niger, Nepal, and Kyrgyzstan. Nevertheless, gender parity improved only in Nepal. The group-based approach was a clear contributor to women’s empowerment in Ethiopia, Nepal, and Kyrgyzstan. In Kyrgyzstan, the GALS/BALI approach contributed to impacts across almost all indicators of empowerment. The positive impact of GALS and GALS/BALI on men and women alike in Kyrgyzstan is consistent with emerging evidence that involving both men and women in gender transformative approaches, rather than focusing on women alone, may be key to effective and sustainable programs. Although impacts on time use were insignificant in the quantitative study, the qualitative work pointed out negative impacts, emphasizing the unintended consequences of increased workload for women who participate in livelihood interventions.
Nepal: Impacts of the Ukraine and global crises on poverty and food security
Diao, Xinshen; Dorosh, Paul A.; Ellis, Mia; Pal, Barun Deb; Smart, Jenny; Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Thurlow, James. Washington, DC 2022
Diao, Xinshen; Dorosh, Paul A.; Ellis, Mia; Pal, Barun Deb; Smart, Jenny; Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Thurlow, James. Washington, DC 2022
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.135953
Abstract | View
Global food, fuel, and fertilizer prices have risen rapidly in recent months, driven in large part by the fallout from the ongoing war in Ukraine and the sanctions imposed on Russia. Other factors, such as export bans, have also contributed to rising prices. Palm oil and wheat prices increased by 56 and 100 percent in real terms, respectively, between June 2021 and April 2022, with most of the in-crease occurring since February (Figure 1).
Dairy animal ownership and household milk production associated with better child and family diet in rural Nepal during the COVID-19 pandemic
Miller, Laurie C.; Neupane, Sumanta; Joshi, Neena; Lohani, Mahendra; Sah, Keshav; Shrestha, Bhola. 2022
Miller, Laurie C.; Neupane, Sumanta; Joshi, Neena; Lohani, Mahendra; Sah, Keshav; Shrestha, Bhola. 2022
DOI : 10.3390/nu14102074
Abstract | View
The economic and health crises related to the COVID-19 pandemic raised considerable concern about child and family diet, especially among small-holder farming households in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). In rural Nepal, 309 families (including 368 children aged 6–66 months) were enrolled pre-COVID-19 in a prospective study of a nutrition education intervention and family milk consumption. The intervention could not be implemented due to COVID-19; however, child and family diet was assessed in three household surveys (one before and two during the pandemic). Over time, after adjusting for child and household factors, child and family diet quality declined (reduced diet diversity, consumption of milk and animal-source-foods (ASF)). However, in dairy-animal-owning (vs. non-dairy-animal-owning) households, both children and family were more likely to consume milk (aOR respectively 2.88× (p < 0.05), 5.81× (p < 0.001)). Similarly, in households producing >3.5 L/d milk (vs. ≤3.5 L/d), children and family members were more likely to consume milk (respectively 7.45× and 11.88× (both p < 0.001)). Thus, the overall decline in child and family diet quality, especially related to milk consumption, was buffered independently by household ownership of ≥1 dairy animals (cow or buffalo) and by milk production >3.5 L/day. A better understanding of these protective factors might facilitate the development of interventions to promote resilience in future crises.
Hello, can you hear me? Impact of speakerphones on phone survey responses
Alvi, Muzna Fatima; Barooah, Prapti; Gupta, Shweta; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth Suseela; Ringler, Claudia. Washington, DC 2022
Alvi, Muzna Fatima; Barooah, Prapti; Gupta, Shweta; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth Suseela; Ringler, Claudia. Washington, DC 2022
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.135926
Abstract | View
Ensuring privacy of respondents in phone surveys is especially challenging compared to face-to-face interviews. While the use of phone surveys has become more common in development research, there is little information on how the conduct of phone surveys affects responses. Using phone survey data from India and Nepal, we test the impact of speakerphone use on bias in responses by women and men. We find that 65% of women respondents in India, and 61% of women and 59% of men respondents in Nepal had their phone on speaker during the survey. Speakerphone use is lower when women are matched with the same enumerators in the second round. Speaker use was associated with lower reported agency by women over their own income and the income of their spouse, while it is opposite for men. Our findings have important implication for the collection, design, and analysis of phone survey data.
Conceptual framework for linkages and partnerships in BIMSTEC
Roy, Devesh; Pradhan, Mamata; Boss, Ruchira; Rashid, Shahidur. Washington, DC 2022
Roy, Devesh; Pradhan, Mamata; Boss, Ruchira; Rashid, Shahidur. Washington, DC 2022
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.135882
Abstract | View
The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional organization which came into being in 1997. It comprises seven member states: five from South Asia, namely, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, and two from Southeast Asia, Myanmar and Thailand. BIMSTEC region is home to around 1.5 billion people, that is, nearly 22 percent of the global population with a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of US$2.7 trillion.
Agricultural mechanization and child labour in developing countries: Background study
Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Vos, Rob. Rome, Italy 2022
Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Vos, Rob. Rome, Italy 2022
DOI : 10.4060/cb8550en
Abstract | View
The FAO-IFPRI study, focuses on the use of tractors because they are among the most versatile farm mechanization tools and are universal power sources for all other driven implements and equipment in agriculture, with significant potential to replace animal draught power and human power, including children’s muscle power. Tractor use is typically also the first type of machine-powered equipment in use at lower levels of agricultural development, the context where most child labour is found. Mechanization is mostly assumed to reduce child labour, as it is expected to be labour saving in general. Yet, this is not always the case, as it has also been observed that the use of tractors and other machinery could increase children’s engagement in farm activities. This may be the case if, for instance, their use allows farms to cultivate larger areas, or if it leads to shifting chores of work from hired labor to family workers, e.g. for weeding edges of farmland not reachable by machinery. Evidence has been scant thus far, but the few available studies have mostly lent greater support to the hypothesis that mechanization reduces children’s productive engagement. Most available studies have focused on specific cases and based on scant data. The new FAO-IFPRI study provides a rigorous quantitative assessment for seven developing countries in Asia (India, Nepal and Viet Nam) and sub-Saharan Africa (Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria and Tanzania) based on comparable farm household survey data.
Assessing the impact of COVID-19 on rural women and men in Dang District, Nepal
Alvi, Muzna Fatima; Gupta, Shweta; Barooah, Prapti. Washington, DC 2022
Alvi, Muzna Fatima; Gupta, Shweta; Barooah, Prapti. Washington, DC 2022
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.135038
Abstract | View
To understand the impact of COVID-19 on rural women, we designed a longitudinal panel study with five rounds of phone survey data collection in Dang district in the mid-western region of Nepal. This note summarizes results from all rounds. The study sample was drawn using systematic random sampling from a large, representative household listing survey conducted in February 2020 across four rural municipalities in Dang district. Figure 1 provides a detailed description on the study timeline and sample size covered in each round.
Gendered impacts of COVID-19: Insights from 7 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia
Alvi, Muzna Fatima; Gupta, Shweta; Barooah, Prapti; Ringler, Claudia; Bryan, Elizabeth; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth Suseela. Washington, DC 2022
Alvi, Muzna Fatima; Gupta, Shweta; Barooah, Prapti; Ringler, Claudia; Bryan, Elizabeth; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth Suseela. Washington, DC 2022
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.135042
Abstract | View
It is widely recognized that periods of crisis affect men and women differently, mediated by their access to resources and information, as well as social and institutional structures that may systematically disadvantage women from being able to access relief, institutional support, and rehabilitation. To capture the gendered impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns, we conducted phone surveys in seven countries spread across Asia and Africa. The study was designed as a longitudinal panel study with five rounds of data collection in Ghana, Nepal, Nigeria, and Senegal, and three rounds of data collection in Kenya, Niger, and Uganda. Both men and women were administered the same survey, with some modifications made across countries to adapt to local contexts. This report gives an overview of our findings covering several topics including income loss, coping strategies, labor and time use, food and water insecurity and child education outcomes. We find widespread reports of income loss, which declined over time, but increased again as countries experienced a resurgence in COVID-19 cases and fatality. We find that households first depleted savings when faced with income loss and over time, use of savings reduced while other measures began to be adopted. Women reported greater food and water insecurity compared to men, including worrying about insufficient food and eating less than usual. This is particularly worrying since a large proportion of women also did not have adequately diverse diets. Moderate to severe water insecurity was reported in many of the countries, and as with food insecurity, women were more likely to report issues with accessing water for drinking and other household activities. In some countries, additional modules were added to capture country specific issues of policy relevance, such agriculture extension, mental health, and child marriage. The results make it clear that proactive investments will be needed, including social safety nets, favorable credit policies, nutrition and water investments, to ensure that the crisis does not further widen the gender gap in resources and achievements in rural areas of low- and middle-income countries.
Women's empowerment, extended families and male migration in Nepal: Insights from mixed methods analysis
Doss, Cheryl R.; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth Suseela; Pereira, Audrey; Pradhan, Rajendra. 2022
Doss, Cheryl R.; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth Suseela; Pereira, Audrey; Pradhan, Rajendra. 2022
DOI : 10.1016/j.jrurstud.2022.01.003
Abstract | View
Highlights
•Combining qualitative and quantitative methods sheds new light on women's empowerment processes.
•Upper caste Nepali women are disempowered by patriarchy; lower caste women by poverty and patriarchy.
•Non-migrant husbands mediate the disempowering effects of living with in-laws.
•Control over time, not just hours worked, is an important component of empowerment.
•Combining qualitative and quantitative methods sheds new light on women's empowerment processes.
•Upper caste Nepali women are disempowered by patriarchy; lower caste women by poverty and patriarchy.
•Non-migrant husbands mediate the disempowering effects of living with in-laws.
•Control over time, not just hours worked, is an important component of empowerment.
The impacts of rural outmigration on women’s empowerment: Evidence from Nepal, Senegal, and Tajikistan
Slavchevska, Vanya; Hillesland, Marya; Mane, Erdgin; Doss, Cheryl. Washington, DC 2021
Slavchevska, Vanya; Hillesland, Marya; Mane, Erdgin; Doss, Cheryl. Washington, DC 2021
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.134969
Abstract | View
Using primary survey data collected in Tajikistan, Nepal and Senegal, three countries with high male outmigration rates, this study analyzes the impacts of migration on the empowerment of women who remain in rural areas. The study uses indicators from the Abbreviate Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (A-WEAI) to measure women’s empowerment in five domains (decision-making autonomy around agricultural production, resources, control over income, group membership and workload) and instrumental variable approaches to address the endogeneity between the migration of a family member and women’s empowerment. It finds that male outmigration leads to women’s empowerment in agriculture in some domains and disempowerment in others. In Tajikistan, where women start with low levels of empowerment, women in households with a migrant are more likely to be involved in decisions in productive activities on the household farm, control income, own assets and achieve workload balance than women in non-migrant households. In Nepal and Senegal, women start at higher levels of empowerment and we see fewer differences in their empowerment based on whether they live in a migrant-sending household. The impacts of migration on empowerment depend on the context, whether the household receives remittances or owns land, and women’s position within the household.
Unequal coverage of nutrition and health interventions for women and children in seven countries
Nguyen, Phuong Hong; Singh, Nishmeet; Scott, Samuel; Neupane, Sumanta; Jangid, Manita; Walia, Monika; Menon, Purnima. 2022
Nguyen, Phuong Hong; Singh, Nishmeet; Scott, Samuel; Neupane, Sumanta; Jangid, Manita; Walia, Monika; Menon, Purnima. 2022
DOI : 10.2471/2FBLT.21.286650
Abstract | View
Objective: To examine inequalities and opportunity gaps in co-coverage of health and nutrition interventions in seven countries.
Methods: We used data from the most recent (2015–2018) demographic and health surveys of mothers with children younger than 5 years in Afghanistan (n = 19 632), Bangladesh (n = 5051), India (n = 184 641), Maldives (n = 2368), Nepal (n = 3998), Pakistan (n = 8285) and Sri Lanka (n = 7138). We estimated co-coverage for a set of eight health and eight nutrition interventions and assessed within-country inequalities in co-coverage by wealth and geography. We examined opportunity gaps by comparing coverage of nutrition interventions with coverage of their corresponding health delivery platforms.
Findings: Only 15% of 231 113 mother–child pairs received all eight health interventions (weighted percentage). The percentage of mother–child pairs who received no nutrition interventions was highest in Pakistan (25%). Wealth gaps (richest versus poorest) for co-coverage of health interventions were largest for Pakistan (slope index of inequality: 62 percentage points) and Afghanistan (38 percentage points). Wealth gaps for co-coverage of nutrition interventions were highest in India (32 percentage points) and Bangladesh (20 percentage points). Coverage of nutrition interventions was lower than for associated health interventions, with opportunity gaps ranging from 4 to 54 percentage points.
Conclusion: Co-coverage of health and nutrition interventions is far from optimal and disproportionately affects poor households in south Asia. Policy and programming efforts should pay attention to closing coverage, equity and opportunity gaps, and improving nutrition delivery through health-care and other delivery platforms.
Methods: We used data from the most recent (2015–2018) demographic and health surveys of mothers with children younger than 5 years in Afghanistan (n = 19 632), Bangladesh (n = 5051), India (n = 184 641), Maldives (n = 2368), Nepal (n = 3998), Pakistan (n = 8285) and Sri Lanka (n = 7138). We estimated co-coverage for a set of eight health and eight nutrition interventions and assessed within-country inequalities in co-coverage by wealth and geography. We examined opportunity gaps by comparing coverage of nutrition interventions with coverage of their corresponding health delivery platforms.
Findings: Only 15% of 231 113 mother–child pairs received all eight health interventions (weighted percentage). The percentage of mother–child pairs who received no nutrition interventions was highest in Pakistan (25%). Wealth gaps (richest versus poorest) for co-coverage of health interventions were largest for Pakistan (slope index of inequality: 62 percentage points) and Afghanistan (38 percentage points). Wealth gaps for co-coverage of nutrition interventions were highest in India (32 percentage points) and Bangladesh (20 percentage points). Coverage of nutrition interventions was lower than for associated health interventions, with opportunity gaps ranging from 4 to 54 percentage points.
Conclusion: Co-coverage of health and nutrition interventions is far from optimal and disproportionately affects poor households in south Asia. Policy and programming efforts should pay attention to closing coverage, equity and opportunity gaps, and improving nutrition delivery through health-care and other delivery platforms.
Will promotion of agricultural mechanization help prevent child labour?
Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO); International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Rome, Italy 2021
Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO); International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Rome, Italy 2021
DOI : 10.4060/cb7615en
Abstract | View
The FAO-IFPRI study, of which this policy brief is a summary, focuses on the use of tractors because they are among the most versatile farm mechanization tools and are universal power sources for all other driven implements and equipment in agriculture, with significant potential to replace animal draught power and human power, including children’s muscle power. Tractor use is typically also the first type of machine-powered equipment in use at lower levels of agricultural development, the context where most child labour is found. Mechanization is mostly assumed to reduce child labour, as it is expected to be labour saving in general. Yet, this is not always the case, as it has also been observed that the use of tractors and other machinery could increase children’s engagement in farm activities. This may be the case if, for instance, their use allows farms to cultivate larger areas, or if it leads to shifting chores of work from hired labor to family workers, e.g. for weeding edges of farmland not reachable by machinery. Evidence has been scant thus far, but the few available studies have mostly lent greater support to the hypothesis that mechanization reduces children’s productive engagement. Most available studies have focused on specific cases and based on scant data. The new FAO-IFPRI study provides a rigorous quantitative assessment for seven developing countries in Asia (India, Nepal and Viet Nam) and sub-Saharan Africa (Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria and Tanzania) based on comparable farm household survey data.
The effects of male migration on irrigation systems in Nepal
Pradhan, Prachanda; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth Suseela; Zhang, Wei. Washington, DC 2021
Pradhan, Prachanda; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth Suseela; Zhang, Wei. Washington, DC 2021
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.134927
Abstract | View
Widespread male migration from rural areas is a major force shaping agrarian transformation in Nepal. One particularly important area affected is the governance and management of irrigation systems. The resilience of systems to the effects of male migration is likely to depend on whether (and how) the men’s contributions to the system are met. This highlights the importance of understanding how Water Users’ Associations' (WUAs) organizational functioning evolves, internal and external factors driving the evolution process, the extent of technical and institutional innovation, and the outcomes in terms of system functioning.
Agricultural mechanisation and child labour in developing countries
Vos, Rob; Takeshima, Hiroyuki. Washington, DC 2021
Vos, Rob; Takeshima, Hiroyuki. Washington, DC 2021
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.134916
Abstract | View
Child labour in agriculture remains a global concern. Agriculture is the sector where most child labour is found. Employment of children mostly relates to farm household poverty in developing countries. This raises the question of the extent to which the modernisation of agriculture prevents the use of child labour while also leading to higher productivity. One of the central questions in this context is whether agricultural mechanisation helps limit children’s employment. Available studies have put forward opposing hypotheses, but rigorous empirical evidence is scant. The present study aims to fill some of this void by studying the evidence from comparable farm household survey data in seven developing countries, including three in Asia (India, Nepal, and Vietnam) and four in sub-Saharan Africa (Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Tanzania).
Various key findings emerge. First, many children are found to engage in productive activities in studied countries. The prevalence is particularly high in African countries, such as in Ethiopia where more than one third of children aged 5-14 years engage in farm or off-farm work. Second, while the prevalence of child labour in agriculture (i.e., when productive engagement is detrimental to schooling and child growth) is much lower (at 10% or less in seven countries), they are still sizable in absolute terms; at least 6 million children in these countries partake in agricultural work at the expense of opportunities in adulthood. Third, agricultural mechanization, reflected in farm household’s use of machinery such as tractors, significantly reduces the likelihood of use of children’s labour and increases school attendance. Fourth, the measured impacts of mechanization are only modest, however, and likely indirect, that is, dependent on the extent to which mechanization helps improve household income and on local conditions (such as quality of rural infrastructure and accessibility of education and other social services).
Overall, promotion of agricultural mechanization can help prevent use of child labour. To be truly impactful, however, related support measures should be embedded in broader strategies to enable agricultural productivity growth and improve livelihoods of poor rural households.
Various key findings emerge. First, many children are found to engage in productive activities in studied countries. The prevalence is particularly high in African countries, such as in Ethiopia where more than one third of children aged 5-14 years engage in farm or off-farm work. Second, while the prevalence of child labour in agriculture (i.e., when productive engagement is detrimental to schooling and child growth) is much lower (at 10% or less in seven countries), they are still sizable in absolute terms; at least 6 million children in these countries partake in agricultural work at the expense of opportunities in adulthood. Third, agricultural mechanization, reflected in farm household’s use of machinery such as tractors, significantly reduces the likelihood of use of children’s labour and increases school attendance. Fourth, the measured impacts of mechanization are only modest, however, and likely indirect, that is, dependent on the extent to which mechanization helps improve household income and on local conditions (such as quality of rural infrastructure and accessibility of education and other social services).
Overall, promotion of agricultural mechanization can help prevent use of child labour. To be truly impactful, however, related support measures should be embedded in broader strategies to enable agricultural productivity growth and improve livelihoods of poor rural households.
Spousal concordance in joint and separate households: Survey evidence from Nepal
Ambler, Kate; Doss, Cheryl; Kieran, Caitlin; Passarelli, Simone. 2022
Ambler, Kate; Doss, Cheryl; Kieran, Caitlin; Passarelli, Simone. 2022
DOI : 10.1016/j.worlddev.2021.105744
Abstract | View
In household surveys, husbands and wives who are asked the same set of survey questions often provide different responses. The levels of concordance in responses to questions about who owns assets and makes decisions in a household may hold valuable information about household dynamics and women’s well-being. These relationships may be especially indicative in the South Asian context where couples often reside in joint households with the husbands’ parents, resulting in different power structures. Using data from Nepal, we study patterns of concordance between spouses on survey questions regarding household asset ownership and decision making. We analyze these patterns separately for couples that reside with the husband’s parents and those that do not. We consider concordance regarding both the asset ownership and decision making of wives and individuals other than the respondent couple. We find that discordance regarding wives’ asset ownership and decision making is both substantial and systematic. Wives are much more likely than husbands to report their own participation in asset ownership and decision making, in both joint and separate households. Regarding the involvement of others, the modal response in joint households is concordance that others own assets and make decisions; however, wives are more likely than husbands to acknowledge this. Spousal concordance that wives own assets or make decisions, and discordance in which wives report that they own assets or make decisions, are both correlated with some improved measures of wives’ well-being. In households with in-laws present, concordance that others are involved is correlated with worse outcomes for wives. These results highlight that spousal concordance is not necessarily indicative of wives’ well-being, especially in joint households.
Deforestation and smallholder income: Evidence from remittances to Nepal
Li, Man; Zhang, Wei; Guo, Zhe; Bhandary, Prapti. 2022
Li, Man; Zhang, Wei; Guo, Zhe; Bhandary, Prapti. 2022
DOI : 10.3368/le.98.2.090220-0139R
Abstract | View
This article examines the effect of remittance income on deforestation in Nepal during 2001–2010 using satellite-based land use data and a nationwide household survey. Results indicate that remittance income reduced deforestation by 4.2 percentage points, accounting for almost 12% of deforestation during this period. An additional one-thousand-Rupee increase in average household annual remittance income reduced the ward-level deforestation by ~0.435 percentage points. There is no evidence that remittances induced expansion of agricultural land or stimulated demand for forest products. Instead, remittances contributed to the shift of households’ demand for timber and fuelwood toward non-wood alternatives for housing construction and cooking.
Agricultural mechanization and gendered labor activities across sectors: Micro-evidence from multi-country farm household data
Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Diao, Xinshen. Washington, DC 2021
Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Diao, Xinshen. Washington, DC 2021
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.134849
Abstract | View
Gender differences in the engagement of work activities across sectors are important elements of gender inequality in rural livelihoods and welfare in developing countries. The role of production technologies, including agricultural mechanization, in addressing gender inequality, is increasingly explored. Knowledge gaps remain, however, including, how agricultural mechanization differentially affect labor engagements across sectors. This study aims to partly fill these knowledge gaps through micro-evidence from 8 countries (Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania, India, Nepal, Tajikistan and Vietnam), using several nationally representative panel data and supplementary data, and applying Correlated-Random-Effects Double-Hurdle models with Instrumental-Variables. We find that the use of tractors and/or combine harvesters by the household induces greater shift from farm activities to non-farm activities by female members than by male members. While statistical significance varies, these patterns generally hold consistently across all 8 countries studied. These patterns also seem to hold across different farm sizes. While these are short-term relations, agricultural mechanization proxied by tractor and/or combine harvesters is one of the important contributors to gendered rural livelihood. Future studies should more closely investigate underlying mechanisms and implications of these patterns.
Migration and gender dynamics of irrigation governance in Nepal
Meinzen-Dick, Ruth Suseela; Pradhan, Prachanda; Zhang, Wei. Washington, DC 2021
Meinzen-Dick, Ruth Suseela; Pradhan, Prachanda; Zhang, Wei. Washington, DC 2021
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.134815
Abstract | View
Nepal has a long history of irrigation, including government and farmer-managed irrigation systems that are labor- and skill-intensive. Widespread male migration has important effects on Nepalese society. How institutions such as Water Users’ Associations (WUAs) respond and adapt, is therefore critical to the understanding of rural transformation and the likely impact on gender equality, food production, and rural livelihoods. This paper examines the effects of male migration on institutional change in WUAs, women’s roles, technological change, and outcomes affecting effectiveness of irrigation systems based on a mixed methods study, combining a phone survey of 336 WUA leaders from all provinces in Nepal with qualitative data from case studies in 10 irrigation systems. Results indicate WUAs have adapted rules to increase women’s participation and monetize the contributions for maintenance. Women exercise agency in whether and how to interact with WUAs. Mechanization has reduced the need for some male labor, though the ability to mechanize is limited by hilly terrain and small plot sizes. Overall, systems are adapting to male migration, with relatively low idling of land or labor shortages causing deterioration of the systems, though there are concerns with the high levels of women’s labor burdens.
2018 Social Accounting Matrix for Nepal: A Nexus Project SAM
Pradesha, Angga; Thurlow, James. Washington, DC 2021
Pradesha, Angga; Thurlow, James. Washington, DC 2021
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.134820
Abstract | View
The 2018 Nepal Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) follows IFPRI's Standard Nexus SAM approach, by focusing on consistency, comparability, and transparency of data. The Nexus SAMs available on IFPRI's website separates domestic production into 42 activities. Factors are disaggregated into labor, agricultural land, and capital, with labor further disaggregated across three education-based categories. The household account is divided into 10 representative household groups: Rural and urban households across per capita consumption quintiles. Nexus SAMs support the improvement of model-based research and policy analysis in developing countries and allow for more robust cross-country comparisons of national economic structures, especially agriculture-food systems.
Using priming experiments to understand gender attitudes: Lessons from Papua New Guinea and Nepal
Kosec, Katrina; Mo, Cecilia Hyunjung. College Park, MD, USA 2021
Kosec, Katrina; Mo, Cecilia Hyunjung. College Park, MD, USA 2021
Abstract | View
How do perceptions of relative economic status affect gender attitudes regarding women’s economic participation and decision-making authority in their household and community? Several recent trends highlight the importance of this question. Income inequality within developing countries is on the rise (Ravaillon 2014). Moreover, with the proliferation of social media, permitting quicker comparisons of oneself to others in their network, and increased migration flows, the salience of inequality is simultaneously growing.
Food security and women’s well-being: Insights from rural Nepal
Alvi, Muzna Fatima; Barooah, Prapti. Ahmedabad, India 2021
Alvi, Muzna Fatima; Barooah, Prapti. Ahmedabad, India 2021
Abstract | View
As the impacts of the COVID-19 continue to be felt across the world, the need to address the vulnerabilities of the poor and marginalized is heightened. In rural and agriculture dependent economies, it is often the farm sector that is most severely impacted in times of crisis, in large part due to the lack of access to risk and loss mitigation measures, and limited access to government assistance. Among those who are affected, periods of crisis are often worse for vulnerable groups such as children, women and those belonging to historically disadvantaged groups and communities. We use four rounds of phone survey data from farmers in Nepal conducted between June 2020 to January 2021, to study the impacts of the pandemic and associated lockdowns on maize farmers in Dang district of Nepal, with a focus on food security and dietary diversity. Our sample comprises of nearly 690 respondents, of which 70% are women. The area where our survey is conducted, borders India and thus sees large out-migration of men, leaving women as de-facto heads of households.
Policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal
Srivastava, Nandita; Nepal, Binisha; Gauchan, Biswash; Kennedy, Adam. Washington, DC 2021
Srivastava, Nandita; Nepal, Binisha; Gauchan, Biswash; Kennedy, Adam. Washington, DC 2021
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.134614
Abstract | View
As soon as COVID-19 cases were reported in Nepal in early 2020, the Government of Nepal took several measures to minimize the spread of the virus and provide support to vulnerable groups. In addition to imposing a lockdown, the government took steps to bolster the health, financial and monetary, and business sectors. Despite these measures, capacity constraints in the health sector, political instability, and the return of a large pool of migrant workers to Nepal all contributed to increased spread of the disease and heightened vulnerability among the food insecure and those whose livelihoods were harmed by the lockdowns. This brief draws on the COVID-19 Policy Response (CPR) Portal (IFPRI 2020) to summarize the policies put in place by the Government of Nepal to combat the virus, as well as some of the challenges with implementation.
The role of social identity in improving access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and health services: Evidence from Nepal
Balasubramanya, Soumya; Stifel, David; Alvi, Muzna Fatima; Ringler, Claudia. 2022
Balasubramanya, Soumya; Stifel, David; Alvi, Muzna Fatima; Ringler, Claudia. 2022
DOI : 10.1111/dpr.12588
Abstract | View
COVID-19 has revived focus on improving equitable access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and health services in developing countries. Most public programming tends to rely on economic indicators to identify and target vulnerable groups. Can expanded targeting criteria that include social status help to improve not only targeting, but also equity in access to WASH and health services?
Quality local seeds to farmers: Supporting seed system development in Uganda and Nepal
CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM). Washington, DC 2021
CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM). Washington, DC 2021
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.134520
Abstract | View
Seed is a critical input for agricultural production. In many developing countries, limited access to and availability of quality seeds affects farmers’ food and nutrition security and impedes efforts to make agrifood systems more productive, inclusive, environmentally sustainable, and nutrition sensitive. Research on seed systems is a key component of the CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM). Two recent outcomes of this work include the revision and implementation of the seed policy in Uganda and the registration of 11 local varieties of beans, rice, fingermillet, proso millet, amaranth and cucumber used by farmers in Nepal. Both achievements contribute to enhanced quality assurance for popular varieties commercialized by farmers at the local level.
Are data available for tracking progress on nutrition policies and programs in South Asia?
Jangid, Manita; Neupane, Sumanta; Murira, Zivai; Auer, S.R.; Scott, Samuel; Menon, Purnima. New Delhi, India 2021
Jangid, Manita; Neupane, Sumanta; Murira, Zivai; Auer, S.R.; Scott, Samuel; Menon, Purnima. New Delhi, India 2021
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.134477
Abstract | View
The World Health Organization (WHO) and other global nutrition and health agencies recommend nutrition actions throughout the life-course to address malnutrition in all its forms. As global recommendations are updated based on available evidence, it is anticipated that governments and stakeholders will, in turn, build on these recommendations to update national policies and programs. Little is known in the South Asia region about policy coherence with globally recommended actions. Even less is known about the degree to which countries are able to track their progress on nutrition actions. To address the gap, this brief summarizes the policy and program gaps in addressing nutrition actions, along with data gaps in population-based surveys in all the countries in the South Asia region, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
Are data available for tracking progress on nutrition policies, programs, and outcomes in Nepal?
Neupane, Sumanta; Jangid, Manita; Scott, Samuel; Nguyen, Phuong Hong; Kim, Sunny S.; Murira, Zivai; Torlesse, Harriet; Menon, Purnima. New Delhi, India 2021
Neupane, Sumanta; Jangid, Manita; Scott, Samuel; Nguyen, Phuong Hong; Kim, Sunny S.; Murira, Zivai; Torlesse, Harriet; Menon, Purnima. New Delhi, India 2021
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.134474
Abstract | View
The World Health Organization (WHO) and other global nutrition and health agencies recommend nutrition actions throughout the life-course to address malnutrition in all its forms. In this report, we examined how Nepal’s nutrition policies and programs addressed recommended nutrition actions, nutrition outcomes, and the determinants of these outcomes. We reviewed population-based surveys and administrative data systems in order to assess the data availability on nutrition actions, and on the indicators of determinants and outcomes. Our policy review identified a total of 53 recommended evidence-based nutrition actions, of which 50 nutrition actions were applicable in Nepal. Of these, 45 were addressed in the country’s nutrition policies and programs and some of the actions were only available in some districts. Nutrition actions that were not included in current policies and programs included calcium supplementation and advice on consuming calcium during pregnancy, and daily iron and folic acid (IFA) supplementation during childhood. Current policies addressed daily or intermittent IFA supplementation during preconception and food supplementation for malnourished lactating women during the postnatal period; however, there was no program to implement these actions. Nepal’s Multi-Sector Nutrition Plan (MSNP) recognized and addressed all key determinants of nutrition; it also expressed an intent to address all SDG nutrition targets for maternal, infant, and young child nutrition. Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), however, were addressed separately by a multisectoral plan for NCDs. Our data review found that out of 45 actions that policies and programs addressed, population-based surveys contained data on only 27 actions and administrative data systems contained data on only 25 actions. Population-based surveys and administrative data sources contained no data on: food supplementation during adolescence; weight monitoring and various types of counseling during pregnancy; optimal timing (delayed) of umbilical cord clamping, support for breastfeeding and immediate skin-to-skin contact, optimal feeding of low-birth-weight infants and counseling of mothers of low-birth-weight infants on kangaroo mother care (KMC) during delivery and in the postpartum period; breastfeeding counseling, counseling on appropriate complementary feeding, counseling after growth monitoring, and inpatient management of severe acute malnutrition (SAM) during early childhood. Population-based surveys contained data on most of the indicators of immediate and underlying determinants, while administrative data systems did not have data on all indicators of immediate determinants. Data on all indicators of nutrition outcomes were available from population-based surveys. In conclusion, Nepal’s policy and program landscape for nutrition is robust, however the gaps in data availability for tracking progress on nutrition actions are much larger than the gap in policies and programs for addressing recommended actions. Future population-based surveys and modifications of administrative data systems should aim to fill the identified data gaps for nutrition actions.
Rural Finance Policies 1 - The demand for financial services by the rural poor
Zeller, Manfred; Sharma, Manohar. Washington, D.C. 2000
Zeller, Manfred; Sharma, Manohar. Washington, D.C. 2000
Abstract | View
This policy brief summarizes lessons learned from IFPRI's multicountry program on rural finance and household food security with regard to the poors’ demand for financial services. The lessons are derived from detailed household surveys conducted in nine countries of Asia and Africa: Bangladesh, Cameroon, China, Egypt, Ghana, Madagascar, Malawi, Nepal, and Pakistan.
Maternal depression is associated with less dietary diversity among rural Nepali children
Miller, Laurie C.; Neupane, Sumanta; Sparling, Thalia M.; Shrestha, Merina; Joshi, Neena; Lohani, Mahendra; Thorne‐Lyman, Andrew. 2021
Miller, Laurie C.; Neupane, Sumanta; Sparling, Thalia M.; Shrestha, Merina; Joshi, Neena; Lohani, Mahendra; Thorne‐Lyman, Andrew. 2021
DOI : 10.1111/mcn.13221
Abstract | View
Maternal depression has been associated with adverse child growth and development; less is known about its relation to children's diet. In a cross-sectional study embedded at endline of a longitudinal community development intervention, mothers of 629 children (age 23–66 months) in rural Nepal responded to household and children's diet questionnaires and were screened for depression. Child anthropometry and development (Ages and Stages Questionnaire) were assessed. Regression models examined children's diet, growth and development, adjusting for household, child and maternal characteristics. The prevalence of maternal depression was 21%. Maternal depression was associated with 11% lower likelihood that the child consumed one additional food group [Poisson regression, adjusted relative risk (aRR) 0.89, 95% confidence intervals (95% CI 0.81, 0.99), p = 0.024] and 13% lower likelihood that the child consumed one additional animal source food (ASF) [aRR 0.87, (95% CI 0.76, 1.01), p = 0.061] compared with children of nondepressed mothers. However, maternal depression was not associated with either child anthropometry or development: these outcomes were strongly associated with better home child-rearing quality. Stunting also related to child age and intervention group; child development related to mother's education and household wealth. This study suggests a correlation between maternal depression and child dietary diversity. This association could be due to unmeasured confounders, and therefore, further research is warranted. Understanding the relationship of depression to child outcomes—and the role of other potentially compensatory household factors—could help address some of the earliest, modifiable influences in a child's life and contribute to innovative approaches to improve child well-being.
Both quantity and quality of antenatal care matter for child birthweight: An analysis of nationally representative data From Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan
Neupene, Sumanta; Scott, Samuel; Nguyen, Phuong Hong; Menon, Purnima. 2021
Neupene, Sumanta; Scott, Samuel; Nguyen, Phuong Hong; Menon, Purnima. 2021
DOI : 10.1093/cdn/nzab046_091
Abstract | View
Antenatal care (ANC) is an important platform to deliver health and nutrition interventions during pregnancy but there is limited evidence on how both the number and content of ANC visits relate to birth outcomes. We examined the independent and additive contributions of ANC quantity and quality on child birthweight in four South Asian countries.
Returns-to-scale and factor endowments-induced specialization: Agricultural mechanization and agricultural transformation in Nepal
Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Kumar, Anjani. 2021
Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Kumar, Anjani. 2021
DOI : 10.1353/jda.2021.0083
Child diet and household characteristics relate differently to child development at the beginning and the end of the second “1000 days” in rural Nepal
Miller, Laurie C.; Neupane, Sumanta; Joshi, Neena; Lohani, Mahendra; Thorne-Lyman, Andrew. 2021
Miller, Laurie C.; Neupane, Sumanta; Joshi, Neena; Lohani, Mahendra; Thorne-Lyman, Andrew. 2021
DOI : 10.1177/0379572120987976
Scaling up community-driven development
Gillespie, Stuart. Washington, D.C. 2004
Gillespie, Stuart. Washington, D.C. 2004
Abstract | View
While many community-driven development (CDD) initiatives may be successful, their impact is often limited by their small scale. Building on past and ongoing work on CDD, this study addresses the fundamental question: how can CDD initiatives motivate and empower the greatest number of communities to take control of their own development? What are the key contextual factors, institutional arrangements, capacity elements, and processes related to successful scaling-up of CDD, and, conversely, what are the main constraints or limiting factors, in different contexts? Drawing upon recent literature and the findings from five case studies, key lessons on how best to stimulate, facilitate, and support the scaling-up of CDD in different situations, along with some major challenges, are highlighted. Lessons include the need for donors and supporters of CDD, including governments, to think of the process beyond the project, and of transformation or transition rather than exit. Donor push and community pull factors need to be balanced to prevent "supply-driven, demand-driven development." Overall, capacity is pivotal to successful CDD and its successful scaling-up over time. Capacity is more than simply resources, however; it also includes motivation and commitment, which, in turn, require appropriate incentives at all levels. Capacity development takes time and resources, but it is an essential upfront and ongoing investment, with the capacity and commitment of facilitators and local leaders being particularly important. A "learning by doing" culture -- one that values adaptation, flexibility, and openness to change -- needs to be fostered at all levels, with time horizons adjusted accordingly. The building of a library of well-documented, context-specific experiences through good monitoring, evaluation, and operational research will be useful in advocating for improvements in the contextual environment. Ultimately, for CDD to be sustained, it should be anchored within existing contextual systems (government), frameworks (e.g., PRSP), and processes (decentralization), even where these are imperfect. -- Author's Abstract
Assessing the risk of COVID-19 in Nepal
Koo, Jawoo; Azzarri, Carlo; Ghosh, Aniruddha; Quabili, Wahid. Washington, DC 2021
Koo, Jawoo; Azzarri, Carlo; Ghosh, Aniruddha; Quabili, Wahid. Washington, DC 2021
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.134288
Abstract | View
As COVID-19 vaccines are becoming available, governments will need to assess the number and location of the most vulnerable people within their populations. However, problematically, tracking data for most low- and middle-income countries are only available at the national level. To support the COVID-19 relief effort, the Gender, Climate Change, and Nutrition Integration Initiative (GCAN) was commissioned to develop a subnational dataset of key COVID-19 risk indicators and potential risk hotspots.
Assessing the risk of COVID-19 in Feed the Future countries
Koo, Jawoo; Azzarri, Carlo; Ghosh, Aniruddha; Quabili, Wahid. Washington, DC 2021
Koo, Jawoo; Azzarri, Carlo; Ghosh, Aniruddha; Quabili, Wahid. Washington, DC 2021
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.134271
Abstract | View
In anticipation of the development of a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine—the distribution of which will be a complex and sensitive issue—governments will need to assess the number and location of the most vulnerable people within their populations. Problematically, however, tracking data for most low- and middle-income countries are only available at the national level. The most widely used dataset by the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering (Dong, Du, and Gardner 2020), for example, does not include subnational data for Feed the Future’s 12 target countries in Africa south of the Sahara (SSA) and South Asia: Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, Honduras, Kenya, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Mali, Senegal, and Uganda. For this reason, the Gender, Climate Change, and Nutrition Integration Initiative (GCAN) was commissioned to correlate Demographic and Health Survey data from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) with geospatial data in order to develop a subnational dataset of key COVID-19 risk indicators based on which potential risk hotspots were identified. This policy note summarizes the study’s analysis in the 12 Feed the Future countries and across subnational administrative units within each country.
Women's access to agriculture extension amidst COVID-19: Insights from Gujarat, India and Dang, Nepal
Alvi, Muzna Fatima; Barooah, Prapti; Gupta, Shweta; Saini, Smriti. 2021
Alvi, Muzna Fatima; Barooah, Prapti; Gupta, Shweta; Saini, Smriti. 2021
DOI : 10.1016/j.agsy.2020.103035
Abstract | View
COVID-19 induced lockdowns have had far reaching impacts on the rural sector, particularly on women farmers. These impacts have been exacerbated by lack of access to reliable and timely agriculture information. Using panel phone survey data from India and Nepal, we study how women's access to agricultural extension was impacted by the lockdowns and its effect on agricultural productivity. We find that women's already low access to formal extension was reduced further, leading to an increased reliance on informal social networks. In both countries, nearly 50% farmers reported negative impacts on productivity due to inaccessibility of information during the lockdown. In India, we find that access to formal extension is mediated by crop type, geographic location and caste identity. We discuss ways in which extension systems in India and Nepal can be made more inclusive and resilient to future crisis, including by adapting group and community-based approaches to post-pandemic best practices.
Not just a call away: Issues faced during phone surveys of women in India and Nepal
Gupta, Shweta; Saini, Smriti. Washington, DC 2020
Gupta, Shweta; Saini, Smriti. Washington, DC 2020
Just a call away? Learnings from phone surveys in India and Nepal
Saini, Smriti; Gupta, Shweta. 2020
Saini, Smriti; Gupta, Shweta. 2020
Abstract | View
Most in-person survey activities have become unviable due to COVID-19; however, it is all the more important to continue primary data collection to guide effective policymaking for the communities impacted by the pandemic. The transition to phone-based surveys has almost eliminated the need for physical contact, but it also presents a set of unique challenges that shall form the basis for further learning and developments to improve upon the available mode of phone surveys.
Rural outmigration and the gendered patterns of agricultural labor in Nepal
Slavchevska, Vanya; Doss, Cheryl; Mane, Erdgin; Kaaria, Susan; Kar, Anuja; Villa, Victor. Washington, DC 2020
Slavchevska, Vanya; Doss, Cheryl; Mane, Erdgin; Kaaria, Susan; Kar, Anuja; Villa, Victor. Washington, DC 2020
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.134190
Abstract | View
In Nepal, as in many developing countries, male outmigration from rural areas is significant and is rapidly transforming the sending communities. Using primary data collected from households in rural Nepali communities, this study analyzes the effects of male out-migration from rural agricultural areas on women’s and men’s work on and off the farm. Using an instrumental variable approach to correct for endogeneity related to outmigration, the study finds differential impacts on agricultural labor for the men and women who remain. Men reduce labor in non-farm work without significantly increasing their labor allocation to other activities. Women, on the other hand, increase their work on the farm taking on new responsibilities and moving from contributing family workers to primary farmers. Despite their growing roles as primary farmers, women in households with a migrant do not increase their work in higher value activities, and remain predominantly concentrated in producing staple grains. The analysis highlights the importance of recognizing the changing roles of rural women, especially with respect to the management of the family farm, but it also raises questions about the sustainability and resilience of rural livelihoods to shocks in remittance incomes.
Contract farming in lentils and rice seed production: Case studies from Nepal
Mishra, Ashok K.; Kumar, Anjani; Hirsch, Stefan. Abingdon, Oxford, UK 2021
Mishra, Ashok K.; Kumar, Anjani; Hirsch, Stefan. Abingdon, Oxford, UK 2021
Development of balanced nutrient management innovations in South Asia: Perspectives from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka
Kishore, Avinash; Alvi, Muzna; Krupnik, Timothy J.. 2021
Kishore, Avinash; Alvi, Muzna; Krupnik, Timothy J.. 2021
DOI : 10.1016/j.gfs.2020.100464
Abstract | View
Imbalanced application of fertilizers is a major fiscal and environmental problem in South Asia. We review fertilizer policies and extension efforts to promote the balanced application of nutrients in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka and draw 4 important lessons. (1) Fertilizer sector reforms need to be fiscally sustainable and politically feasible. Governments in South Asia have abolished fertilizer subsidies on multiple occasions, only to restore them a few years later. (2) The use of phosphate and potash did not decline much even after a sharp increase in their prices in India in 2011–12. Therefore, rationalizing subsidies, while necessary, may not be sufficient to ensure balanced use of fertilizers. Changing farmers' practice requires combining the right incentives with the right information. (3) Soil test based soil health cards (SHC) hold promise, but there is limited evidence on their utility. India's SHC program had very little impact on fertilizer use. (4) Direct cash transfer (DCT) of fertilizer subsidies can reduce distortions, but Sri Lanka's experience shows that implementing it is more challenging than universal subsidies. DCT requires the removal of price controls, integration of land records farmer identity cards, a cash transfer system with universal coverage, and a competitive fertilizer retail sector.
Do tradeoffs among dimensions of women’s empowerment and nutrition outcomes exist? Evidence from six countries in Africa and Asia
Quisumbing, Agnes R.; Sproule, Kathryn; Martinez, Elena M.; Malapit, Hazel Jean L.. 2021
Quisumbing, Agnes R.; Sproule, Kathryn; Martinez, Elena M.; Malapit, Hazel Jean L.. 2021
DOI : 10.1016/j.foodpol.2020.102001
Abstract | View
Although women’s empowerment and gender equality are often linked with better maternal and child nutrition outcomes, recent systematic reviews find inconclusive evidence. This paper applies a comparable methodology to data on the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI), an internationally-validated measure based on interviews of women and men within the same household, from six countries in Africa and Asia to identify which dimensions of women’s empowerment are related to household-, woman-, and child-level dietary and nutrition outcomes. We examine relationships between women’s empowerment and household-level dietary diversity; women’s dietary diversity and BMI; and child-related outcomes, controlling for woman, child, and household characteristics. We also test for differential associations of women’s empowerment with nutrition outcomes for boys and girls. We find few significant associations between the aggregate empowerment scores and nutritional outcomes. The women’s empowerment score is positively associated only with child HAZ, while lower intrahousehold inequality is associated with a higher likelihood of exclusive breastfeeding and higher HAZ but with lower BMI. However, analysis of the subdomain indicators finds more significant associations, suggesting that tradeoffs exist among different dimensions of empowerment. Women’s empowerment accounts for a small share of the variance in nutritional outcomes, with household wealth and country-level factors accounting for the largest share of the variation in household and women’s dietary diversity. In contrast, most of the variation in child outcomes comes from child age. Improving nutritional outcomes requires addressing the underlying determinants of poor nutrition in addition to empowering women and improving gender equality.
Gender, time-use, and energy expenditures in rural communities in India and Nepal
Picchioni, Fiorella; Zanello, Giacomo; Srinivasan, C. S.; Wyatt, Amanda J.; Webb, Patrick. 2020
Picchioni, Fiorella; Zanello, Giacomo; Srinivasan, C. S.; Wyatt, Amanda J.; Webb, Patrick. 2020
DOI : 10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.105137
Abstract | View
Women’s patterns of time-use, which proxy the work burdens associated with productive and reproductive activities, are an important determinant of nutrition and well-being in LMICs. However, there is a lack of empirical evidence on how patterns of time-use translate into patterns of physical activity and energy expenditure, particularly in rural areas where seasonal agricultural labour plays such an important role. We address this gap by integrating energy expenditure data derived from wearable tri-axial accelerometers with time-use data from conventional recall-based surveys. Using datasets from agricultural households in four rural communities in India and Nepal, our results show that there are significant gender differences in the patterns of time-use and energy expenditure. Men and women participate equally in productive work, however, women shoulder most of the additional reproductive work burdens in rural households at the expense of leisure opportunities. Our results provide insights into women’s responses to opportunities for productive work and highlight the nature of trade-offs they face.
Monopsonists, disruptive innovation and food security: The case of high‐value commodity
Mishra, Ashok K.; Kumar, Anjani; Joshi, Pramod Kumar; Dsouza, Alwin. 2022
Mishra, Ashok K.; Kumar, Anjani; Joshi, Pramod Kumar; Dsouza, Alwin. 2022
DOI : 10.1002/aepp.13122
Women’s empowerment, extended families and male migration in Nepal: Insights from mixed methods analysis
Meinzen-Dick, Ruth Suseela; Pereira, Audrey; Pradhan, Rajendra; Doss, Cheryl. Washington, DC 2020
Meinzen-Dick, Ruth Suseela; Pereira, Audrey; Pradhan, Rajendra; Doss, Cheryl. Washington, DC 2020
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.134159
Abstract | View
Women’s empowerment is dynamic across the life course, affected not only by age but also by women’s social position within the household. In Nepal, high rates of male outmigration have further compounded household dynamics, although the impact on women’s empowerment is not clear. We use qualitative and quantitative data from Nepal to explore the relationship between women’s social location in the household, caste/ethnicity, husband’s migration status, and women’s empowerment. The study first examines the factors affecting overall empowerment as measured by the Abbreviated Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (A-WEAI), followed by more detailed qualitative and quantitative analysis of how each factor affects individual domains including asset ownership, access to and decisions on credit, control over use of income, group membership, input in productive decisions, and work load. We find that women’s empowerment is strongly associated with caste/ethnic identity and position in the household, but this dynamic interacts with husband’s migration status. Despite patriarchal norms of high caste groups, high caste women are more empowered than others, reflecting the disempowering effects of poverty and social exclusion for low caste and ethnic groups. Daughters-in-law in joint households are more likely to be empowered when their husbands are residents in the household and disempowered when their husbands are migrants, while wives in nuclear households are more likely to be empowered when their husbands are migrants. While qualitative findings indicate daughters-in-law are disempowered compared to their mothers-in-law, especially in time use, the quantitative results do not show significant differences, suggesting that we need to move toward an understanding of agency over time and intensity of work, rather than simply hours worked. Identifying the factors that contribute to disempowerment of women of different social positions has important implications for the design of interventions and programs that seek to improve women’s empowerment.
MILK Symposium review: Milk consumption is associated with better height and weight in rural Nepali children over 60 months of age and better head circumference in children 24 to 60 months of age
Miller, Laurie C.; Neupane, Sumanta; Joshi, Neena; Lohani, Mahendra. 2020
Miller, Laurie C.; Neupane, Sumanta; Joshi, Neena; Lohani, Mahendra. 2020
DOI : 10.3168/jds.2020-18289
An evolving paradigm of agricultural mechanization development: How much can Africa learn from Asia?
Diao, Xinshen, ed.; Takeshima, Hiroyuki. ed.; Zhang, Xiaobo, ed.. Washington, DC 2020
Diao, Xinshen, ed.; Takeshima, Hiroyuki. ed.; Zhang, Xiaobo, ed.. Washington, DC 2020
DOI : 10.2499/9780896293809
Abstract | View
Agricultural mechanization in Africa south of the Sahara — especially for small farms and businesses — requires a new paradigm to meet the needs of the continent’s evolving farming systems. Can Asia, with its recent success in adopting mechanization, offer a model for Africa? An Evolving Paradigm of Agricultural Mechanization Development analyzes the experiences of eight Asian and five African countries. The authors explore crucial government roles in boosting and supporting mechanization, from import policies to promotion policies to public good policies. Potential approaches presented to facilitating mechanization in Africa include prioritizing market-led hiring services, eliminating distortions, and developing appropriate technologies for the African context. The role of agricultural mechanization within overall agricultural and rural transformation strategies in Africa is also discussed. The book’s recommendations and insights should be useful to national policymakers and the development community, who can adapt this knowledge to local contexts and use it as a foundation for further research.
An evolving paradigm of agricultural mechanization development: How much can Africa learn from Asia? Synopsis
Diao, Xinshen, ed.; Takeshima, Hiroyuki. ed.; Zhang, Xiaobo, ed.. Washington, DC 2020
Diao, Xinshen, ed.; Takeshima, Hiroyuki. ed.; Zhang, Xiaobo, ed.. Washington, DC 2020
DOI : 10.2499/9780896293823
Abstract | View
Agricultural mechanization in Africa south of the Sahara — especially for small farms and businesses — requires a new paradigm to meet the needs of the continent’s evolving farming systems. Can Asia, with its recent success in adopting mechanization, offer a model for Africa? An Evolving Paradigm of Agricultural Mechanization Development analyzes the experiences of eight Asian and five African countries. The authors explore crucial government roles in boosting and supporting mechanization, from import policies to promotion policies to public good policies. Potential approaches presented to facilitating mechanization in Africa include prioritizing market-led hiring services, eliminating distortions, and developing appropriate technologies for the African context. The role of agricultural mechanization within overall agricultural and rural transformation strategies in Africa is also discussed. The book’s recommendations and insights should be useful to national policymakers and the development community, who can adapt this knowledge to local contexts and use it as a foundation for further research.
An evolving paradigm for Africa and synthesis of the lessons from Asia
Diao, Xinshen; Silver, Jed; Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Zhang, Xiaobo. Washington, DC 2020
Diao, Xinshen; Silver, Jed; Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Zhang, Xiaobo. Washington, DC 2020
DOI : 10.2499/9780896293809_01
Abstract | View
Africa has experienced a paradigm shift in mechanization in the past three decades. The “new paradigm” has also given rise to new challenges and policy issues. By synthesizing the recent experiences in African and Asian countries, this chapter draws lessons from Asia and Africa under this new African paradigm. In doing so, the chapter first lays out the guiding theoretical framework used in 1987 by Pingali, Bigot, and Binswanger (PBB), based on the literature on farming systems evolution and induced technological change. The chapter then describes the “new paradigm,” which builds on PBB but also integrates the additional dimension of market failures associated, on the supply side, with custom hiring services, which have become the most common mode of mechanization among smallholders in developing countries. Applying this expanded framework, the chapter then reviews the Asian experience first. It highlights how mechanization has grown in the continent, having largely avoided supply-side market failures, thanks to several factors: smaller machine sizes;1 increased opportunities for multifunctional uses of machines; more secure land tenures that allow integration with formal credit markets; and the supportive, rather than distortive, nature of government subsidy policies. The chapter then turns to the experiences in Africa south of the Sahara (“Africa” hereafter) and highlights the emerging patterns of spatial variations in demand that are still largely consistent with the PBB framework. However, the chapter also stresses that market failures associated with custom hiring services on the supply side are substantial due to features unique to Africa, including the dominant types of large tractors, in addition to higher financial constraints on tractor ownership resulting from lack of secure land tenures and weak penetration of formal credit markets, as well as other barriers due to limited multifunctionality, lack of migratory services due to insufficient infrastructure and coordination failures, and insufficient technologies complementary to mechanization. Based on country experiences in Asia and Africa, the chapter also highlights key government policies that have not always been successful, including import restrictions (or removal thereof), inefficient technology and skill promotion, and insufficient provision of public goods. Last, given the country experiences and the identified appropriate roles of governments, the chapter concludes by describing the key lessons that are important for Africa’s mechanization pathway forward, including (1) understanding the emerging nature of demand, (2) actively promoting private hiring services, (3) eliminating or reducing distortions, and (4) prioritizing the mechanization technologies appropriate for African contexts.
Evolution of agricultural mechanization in Nepal
Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Justice, Scott E.. Washington, DC 2020
Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Justice, Scott E.. Washington, DC 2020
DOI : 10.2499/9780896293809_09
Abstract | View
Mechanization levels in Nepal, a largely agricultural country, were relatively low until a few decades ago. However, significant mechanization growth, including the adoption of tractors, has occurred since the 1990s, against a backdrop of rising rural wages, particularly for plowing, combined with growing emigration, growth in key staple crop yields, overall broad agricultural production growth, and improved market access and participation. This growth in mechanization has taken place despite the general absence of direct government support or promotion. The growth of tractor use in the plains of the Terai zone has transformed agricultural production rather than inducing labor movement out of agriculture. Thus it has raised overall returns to scale in intensification and enabled the cultivation of greater areas by medium smallholders than by resource-poor smallholders. Tractors have also facilitated the intensification of crop production per unit of land among very small farmers, enabling mechanization growth despite the continued decline in farm size, although these farmers may not have benefited as much as medium smallholders. Potential future research areas with policy relevance include mitigating accessibility constraints on tractor custom hiring services, identifying appropriate regulatory policies for mechanization, and providing complementary support to some smallholders who may not fully benefit from tractor adoption alone.
Spousal concordance in joint and separate households: Survey evidence from Nepal
Ambler, Kate; Doss, Cheryl; Kieran, Caitlin; Passarelli, Simone. Washington, DC 2020
Ambler, Kate; Doss, Cheryl; Kieran, Caitlin; Passarelli, Simone. Washington, DC 2020
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.133900
Abstract | View
Using data from Nepal, we analyze patterns of concordance between spouses on survey questions regarding asset ownership and decision making separately for households in which a respondent couple lives with the husband’s parents and those in which they do not. We consider concordance regarding both the roles of women respondents and the roles of people other than the respondent couple. We find that discordance regarding women’s roles is both substantial and systematic; women are much more likely than men to report women’s participation in asset ownership and decision making, and this qualitative pattern is similar across household types. Regarding the role of others, the modal response in joint households is concordance that others own assets and make decisions. However, women are more likely than men to acknowledge this role of others. Next, we find that spousal concordance that women have a role, and wives reporting they have a role while their husbands say that they do not, are both correlated with some improved measures of well-being. In households with in-laws present, concordance that others are involved is correlated with worse outcomes for women. These results highlight that spousal concordance is not necessarily indicative of women's well-being, especially in joint households.
Smallholder mechanization induced by yield-enhancing biological technologies: Evidence from Nepal and Ghana
Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Liu, Yanyan. 2020
Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Liu, Yanyan. 2020
DOI : 10.1016/j.agsy.2020.102914
Abstract | View
Recent agricultural transformation in Asia and Africa has witnessed the gradual spread of mechanization in agricultural areas that are still largely made up of smallholder farming. While the literature has often characterized mechanical technologies as being complementary to land, knowledge gaps exist with regard to the process of adoption of mechanization by smallholders for whom the scope for exploiting its complementarity with land is limited. We test a hypothesis that yield-enhancing biological technologies—which potentially raise total factor productivity and returns to more intensive farm-power use—are important drivers of the adoption of agricultural mechanization among smallholders. To enhance the external validity of evidence, we empirically analyze this hypothesis by applying the same methodologies in two countries, lowland (Terai) Nepal and Ghana. We employ nationally representative, repeated, cross-sectional data from both countries, as well as unique tractor-use data from Ghana; we also employ multidimensional indicators of agroclimatic similarity in the respective plant breeding locations. We show that in both lowland Nepal and Ghana, the adoption of tractors and agricultural equipment has been induced by yield-enhancing biological technologies, particularly improved varieties and high-yielding production systems, when these biological technologies are instrumented by agroclimatic similarity to plant breeding locations, which is measured accounting for the multidimensional characteristics of agroclimatic conditions, and thus proxies spillover potentials of the public sector developed biological technologies. In general, these effects are particularly strong among smaller farms, and the effect holds for the adoption of mechanization both at extensive margins (whether to adopt) and at intensive margins (how much to adopt). In Ghana, partly due to improved efficiency in supply-side factors of mechanization, these linkages have strengthened in the 2010s. The results suggest that in both countries, mechanization support strategies for smallholders can potentially improve their targeting by utilizing the information of agroclimatic similarity with plant breeding locations. In Ghana, further public investments in plant-breeding system in strategic locations may broadly enhance smallholders' demand for mechanization. In lowland Nepal where tractor adoptions have grown fairly high, it is now important to more carefully evaluate the trade-off between smallholder-based growth strategies and other strategies, for example, promoting scale-expansions of farming, which also involves mechanization.
What works in the real world? Synthesis brief
Gillespie, Stuart. Brighton, UK 2017
Gillespie, Stuart. Brighton, UK 2017
Abstract | View
After several years of growing political commitment, with more and more pledges and declarations and an increasing focus on data and on evidence, the international nutrition community has come to recognise the power of narrative. Knowledge that is practically useful needs to encompass a lot more than data and evidence – it needs to include experience. To meet this growing demand for experiential learning, Transform Nutrition developed the Stories of Change (SoC) initiative. The goal was to systematically assess and analyse drivers of change in six high-burden countries – Bangladesh, India (Odisha), Ethiopia, Nepal, Senegal, and Zambia – that have had some success in accelerating improvements in nutrition. From 2014–16, country teams undertook analysis of changes over time in nutrition outcomes, in nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive drivers, and changes in nutrition-relevant policies and programs. Semi-structured key informant interviews (434 in total) were carried out with a range of stakeholders at different levels.
COVID-19 challenges to equity: Insights from rural Nepal and Senegal
Barooah, Prapti; Wouterse, Fleur Stephanie; Saini, Smriti; Alvi, Muzna; Ringler, Claudia. 2020
Barooah, Prapti; Wouterse, Fleur Stephanie; Saini, Smriti; Alvi, Muzna; Ringler, Claudia. 2020
Abstract | View
Globally, COVID-19 has exposed farmers to high levels of income insecurity, underlining the importance of building resilience among male and female farmers. Female farmers might be particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 impacts due to lower incomes, higher illiteracy, and limited access to resources, time poverty due to increasing domestic and productive responsibilities, and overall patriarchal norms including restrictions on mobility that prevent women from realizing their productive potential.
How countries can reduce child stunting at scale: Lessons from exemplar countries
Bhutta, Zulfiqar A.; Akseer, Nadia; Keats, Emily C.; Vaivada, Tyler; Baker, Shawn; Horton, Susan E.; Katz, Joanne; Menon, Purnima; Piwoz, Ellen; Shekar, Meera; Victoria, Cesar; Black, Robert. 2020
Bhutta, Zulfiqar A.; Akseer, Nadia; Keats, Emily C.; Vaivada, Tyler; Baker, Shawn; Horton, Susan E.; Katz, Joanne; Menon, Purnima; Piwoz, Ellen; Shekar, Meera; Victoria, Cesar; Black, Robert. 2020
DOI : 10.1093/ajcn/nqaa153
Changing returns-to-scale and deepening of factor-endowments-induced specialization: Exploring broader linkage between agricultural mechanization and agricultural transformation in Nepal
Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Kumar, Anjani. Washington, DC 2020
Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Kumar, Anjani. Washington, DC 2020
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.133757
Abstract | View
Heterogeneity in factor endowments and the degree of specializations induced by comparative advantages are among the crucial factors that affect the overall productivity of the economy. Few studies, however, investigate what strengthens such endowment-related specialization patterns in the agricultural sector in low-income countries, although such evolutions have profound effects on the role of factor endowments in households’ behaviors. This is in contrast to well-established international trade theory, such as the Heckscher–Ohlin theorem which describes how heterogeneity in endowment across countries gives rise to comparative advantages for specialization and trade.
We partly fill this critical knowledge gap by providing a set of evidence from Nepal, which is a country that has historically been dominated by smallholder farmers and yet has recently been experiencing rapid structural transformation within the agricultural sector. Specifically, we show the following: the agricultural sector in Nepal has experienced a significant increase in returns-to-scale (RTS) in production in recent years during the process of growing adoptions of agricultural mechanization through the custom-hiring market. Such increase in RTS has primarily strengthened the linkages between factor endowment heterogeneity (across farm households) and their specialization behaviors in labor, land, and the agricultural capital market. Both cross-section and panel-data of households in Nepal extracted from Nepal Living Standards Surveys are used to generate this evidence. We find that rising RTS associated primarily with tractor use growth has been inducing greater exploitations of comparative advantages; agricultural households have been increasingly specializing in exchanges of production factors, services, and outputs, in ways consistent with predictions based on their relative factor endowments. Specifically, the rise in RTS has induced households with more labor, land, and capital endowments to rent out their labor, land, and credit, respectively, within the agricultural sector, while increasingly renting-in the other factors with which they are less endowed. The results suggest that understanding factor endowments heterogeneity among agricultural households is becoming increasingly important for effective agricultural policy designs in countries like Nepal, where employment shares in the agricultural sector remain high despite the growth in mechanization.
We partly fill this critical knowledge gap by providing a set of evidence from Nepal, which is a country that has historically been dominated by smallholder farmers and yet has recently been experiencing rapid structural transformation within the agricultural sector. Specifically, we show the following: the agricultural sector in Nepal has experienced a significant increase in returns-to-scale (RTS) in production in recent years during the process of growing adoptions of agricultural mechanization through the custom-hiring market. Such increase in RTS has primarily strengthened the linkages between factor endowment heterogeneity (across farm households) and their specialization behaviors in labor, land, and the agricultural capital market. Both cross-section and panel-data of households in Nepal extracted from Nepal Living Standards Surveys are used to generate this evidence. We find that rising RTS associated primarily with tractor use growth has been inducing greater exploitations of comparative advantages; agricultural households have been increasingly specializing in exchanges of production factors, services, and outputs, in ways consistent with predictions based on their relative factor endowments. Specifically, the rise in RTS has induced households with more labor, land, and capital endowments to rent out their labor, land, and credit, respectively, within the agricultural sector, while increasingly renting-in the other factors with which they are less endowed. The results suggest that understanding factor endowments heterogeneity among agricultural households is becoming increasingly important for effective agricultural policy designs in countries like Nepal, where employment shares in the agricultural sector remain high despite the growth in mechanization.
South Asia is far from achieving universal coverage of essential nutrition interventions: Examining coverage, trends, and inequities, 2005 to 2018
Singh, Nishmeet; Nguyen, Phuong Hong; Scott, Samuel; Kim, Sunny S.; Neupane, Sumanta; Murira, Zivai; Heidkamp, Rebecca A.; Bhutta, Zulfiqar A.; Menon, Purnima; Torlesse, Harriet. 2020
Singh, Nishmeet; Nguyen, Phuong Hong; Scott, Samuel; Kim, Sunny S.; Neupane, Sumanta; Murira, Zivai; Heidkamp, Rebecca A.; Bhutta, Zulfiqar A.; Menon, Purnima; Torlesse, Harriet. 2020
DOI : 10.1093/cdn/nzaa053_112
Abstract | View
South Asia carries the largest burden of malnutrition globally. Tracking coverage of nutrition interventions is a critical step in designing effective nutrition policies and monitoring progress in the region. This paper examines coverage, trends, and inequities in nutrition interventions in South Asia.
An analysis of nutrition-relevant national policies in South Asia reveals a gap in addressing the essential nutrition actions recommended by World Health Organization (WHO)
Neupane, Sumanta; Jangid, Manita; Scott, Samuel; Nguyen, Phuong Hong; Kim, Sunny S.; Menon, Purnima; Murira, Zivai; Torlesse, Harriet. 2020
Neupane, Sumanta; Jangid, Manita; Scott, Samuel; Nguyen, Phuong Hong; Kim, Sunny S.; Menon, Purnima; Murira, Zivai; Torlesse, Harriet. 2020
DOI : 10.1093/cdn/nzaa064_018
Abstract | View
The WHO recommends Essential Nutrition Actions (ENAs) throughout the life course to tackle malnutrition in all its forms. However, limited evidence exists on the availability of policies to support the implementation of ENAs in South Asia, a region with the highest burden of malnutrition globally. We conducted a policy analysis to assess the extent to which current policies address ENAs for adolescent girls, women, and children in South Asia.
How has early marriage, a critical social determinant of child stunting and wasting, changed over a decade in South Asia? Trends, inequities and drivers, 2005 to 2018
Scott, Samuel; Nguyen, Phuong Hong; Neupane, Sumanta; Pramanik, Priyanjana; Nanda, Priya; Menon, Purnima; Bhutta, Zulfiqar; Afsana, Kaosar. 2020
Scott, Samuel; Nguyen, Phuong Hong; Neupane, Sumanta; Pramanik, Priyanjana; Nanda, Priya; Menon, Purnima; Bhutta, Zulfiqar; Afsana, Kaosar. 2020
DOI : 10.1093/cdn/nzaa061_112
Abstract | View
In South Asia, many women are married before their 18th birthday and give birth soon after. Delaying marriage is an attractive nutrition policy target as previous research shows that early marriage (EM) is associated with poor child growth outcomes, operating through many pathways. We sought to describe the prevalence, trends, inequities and predictors of EM in South Asia.
Are data available to measure progress in the coverage of essential nutrition actions in South Asia? A review of demographic and health surveys in seven countries, 2005–2018
Jangid, Manita; Neupane, Sumanta; Scott, Samuel; Nguyen, Phuong Hong; Kim, Sunny S.; Menon, Purnima; Torlesse, Harriet; Murira, Zivai; Heidkamp, Rebecca A.. 2020
Jangid, Manita; Neupane, Sumanta; Scott, Samuel; Nguyen, Phuong Hong; Kim, Sunny S.; Menon, Purnima; Torlesse, Harriet; Murira, Zivai; Heidkamp, Rebecca A.. 2020
DOI : 10.1093/cdn/nzaa053_052
Abstract | View
South Asian countries carry the largest burden of undernutrition globally. The World Health Organization has recommended a set of Essential Nutrition Actions (ENA) to tackle all forms of malnutrition. Limited evidence exists on the availability of data in nationally representative surveys to analyse coverage patterns and to track progress on these actions.
Collective action and “social distancing” in COVID-19 responses
Meinzen-Dick, Ruth Suseela. 2020
Meinzen-Dick, Ruth Suseela. 2020
DOI : 10.1007/s10460-020-10100-1
Abstract | View
Much of my research has been on the need for collective action in managing natural resources, and the value of groups to facilitate collective agency for women’s empowerment. Extensive research has shown that coordination among resource users is necessary to distribute rights and responsibilities for both appropriation and provision of common pool resources, such as for water withdrawals and maintenance of irrigation systems (Anderies and Janssen 2013). And we are learning about the mechanisms through which women’s groups contribute to empowerment, whether through collective enterprises (such as through self-help groups in India), access to finance, acquiring social services, or improving women’s bargaining power in their households (Brody et al. 2017). What happens, then, when people cannot come together in person because of lockdowns to prevent transmission of COVID-19? What happens to the irrigation systems in Nepal and India that need collective labor to repair them? What happens to the women who rely on weekly savings group meetings to build their financial and social capital?
Food safety consciousness and consumers’ milk purchasing behavior: Evidence from a developing country
Thapa, Ganesh; Kumar, Anjani; Roy, Devesh; Joshi, Pramod Kumar. 2020
Thapa, Ganesh; Kumar, Anjani; Roy, Devesh; Joshi, Pramod Kumar. 2020
DOI : 10.1017/aae.2020.14
Abstract | View
We study the effects of food safety awareness on consumers’ milk purchasing behavior in Nepal. We conducted consumer survey and employed an instrumental variable regression. We find education, income, and social network to influence food safety consciousness (FSC). Our results indicate the positive impact of FSC on weekly milk expenditure and probability of purchasing milk from milk cooperatives. Any policy that helps to improve the FSC levels will likely increase the purchase of safe milk from the modern market outlet, and lack of such awareness raising policies has prevented the market for safe food from evolving and expanding.
Women’s empowerment in agriculture and nutritional outcomes: Evidence from six countries in Africa and Asia
Quisumbing, Agnes R.; Sproule, Kathryn; Martinez, Elena M.; Malapit, Hazel J.. Washington, DC 2020
Quisumbing, Agnes R.; Sproule, Kathryn; Martinez, Elena M.; Malapit, Hazel J.. Washington, DC 2020
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.133732
Abstract | View
Although women’s empowerment and gender equality are associated with better maternal and child nutrition outcomes, recent systematic reviews find inconclusive evidence. This paper applies a comparable methodology to data on the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI), a recent internationally-validated measure based on interviews of women and men within the same household, from six countries in Africa and Asia to identify which dimensions of women’s empowerment are related to household-, women-, and child-level dietary and nutrition outcomes. We examine the relationship between women’s empowerment and household-level food security and dietary diversity; women’s dietary diversity and BMI; and child-related outcomes, controlling for woman, child, and household characteristics. We also test whether women’s empowerment has differential associations for boys and girls. We do not find consistent associations between dimensions of empowerment and food security and nutrition outcomes across countries, but some patterns emerge. Overall empowerment scores are more strongly associated with nutritional outcomes in the South Asian countries in our sample compared to the African ones. Where significant, greater intrahousehold gender equality is associated with better nutritional outcomes. However, different domains have different associations with nutritional outcomes, suggesting that tradeoffs exist: higher workloads are associated with more diverse diets but lower women’s BMI and child anthropometric outcomes. Identifying the overlap between the top contributors to disempowerment and those most strongly related to nutrition outcomes can inform the design and implementation of nutrition-sensitive agricultural programs.
Patterns of regional agri-food trade in Asia
Diao, Xinshen; Li, Ruoxin. Washington, DC 2020
Diao, Xinshen; Li, Ruoxin. Washington, DC 2020
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.133699
Abstract | View
This paper analyzes the implication of economic structural change and dietary transformation on changing patterns of agri-food trade among 17 Asian development countries. Sub-regional trade in Central, South, and Southeast Asia is the focus of the paper, along with trade with other partners outside the sub-regions. The paper finds that Asian markets for total agri-food exports and exports of nutritious foods are generally more important than the markets outside of Asia and for many of them, the importance of Asian markets increases over time. While net exporters and importers co-exist in each sub-region, with a few exceptions, sub-regional trade is often less important. Many small countries trade only with one or two large neighbors and less so with each other. The dietary transformation impacts trade in nutritious foods in diverse ways. With income growth, increased domestic demand for nutritious foods seem to lead to more imports of these foods. While many South and Southeast Asian countries have a comparative advantage in exports of some nutritious food products, growth in these exports can be negatively affected by rising domestic demand. Although nutritious food exports continue to play important roles in total agri-food exports, export growth of nutritious food is often slower than overall growth of agri-food exports. The dietary transformation also seems to lead to increases in demand for processed foods which many Asian countries meet through imports, often, accounting for a large component of total agri-food imports. On the other hand, processed foods generally account for a small portion of agri-food exports. However, there are a few countries where processed food export growth is rapid. In these cases, the sub-regional market is expanding, but with few exceptions, it is still less important than trade with countries outside the sub-regions. The paper also finds that agri-food exports and imports are highly concentrated, and a small group of commodities dominate most countries export and import portfolios and remain unchanged over time. The main markets for these important commodities are generally not in the sub-regions and this mismatch between demand and supply of agri-food commodities within sub-region is a natural barrier for promoting regional trade. The modified trade complementary index developed in this paper is based on Michaely (1996) and shows that trade complementarity measures are positively correlated with actual bilateral trade. Small countries tend to enjoy higher levels of complementarity with one or two large trading partners than with other small countries in the same sub-region. This implies that small countries could be better off from bilateral trade arrangements with large partners compared to a regional trade agreement within the sub-region. Because the sub-regional market is oftentimes not large enough to meet large countries’ import demand or consume their export supply, regional trade agreements within sub-regions may be less likely to serve their needs for trade expansion than negotiating with large trading partners outside the sub-regions. While many Asian developing countries’ governments have been pushing for trade diversification and want to reduce export dependencies concentrated on one or two large trading partners, this paper shows the challenges to achieve this policy goal. For small countries, focusing on bilateral trade arrangements with their dominant trading partners seems to be a more practical and effective strategy than regional trade agreements within sub-regions. Long-term trade arrangements, consistent trade policies, and various preferential trade arrangements should be pursued by small countries with their larger trading partners to promote agri-food exports.
Adoption and diffusion of improved technologies and production practices in agriculture: Insights from a donor-led intervention in Nepal
Kumar, Anjani; Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Thapa, Ganesh; Adhikari, Naveen; Saroj, Sunil; Karkee, Madhab; Joshi, Pramod Kumar. 2020
Kumar, Anjani; Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Thapa, Ganesh; Adhikari, Naveen; Saroj, Sunil; Karkee, Madhab; Joshi, Pramod Kumar. 2020
DOI : 10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.104621
Abstract | View
Adoptions of improved technologies and production practices are important drivers of agricultural development in low-income countries like Nepal. Adopting a broad class of such technologies and practices is often critical for meeting the multifaceted goals of efficiency, profitability, environmental sustainability, and climate resilience. This study aims to address the knowledge gaps that still exist concerning what determines the adoption of improved technologies and production practices, the factors affecting their diffusion, the impact of interventions on productivity and crops grown, and the variability of impact within a particular country context. In this paper we address these questions using data collected as part of the USAID-led Knowledge-Based Integrated Sustainable Agriculture in Nepal (KISAN) project. We adopted a multistage sampling technique and surveyed 988 beneficiary households and 997 non-beneficiary households in KISAN intervention districts and non-intervention districts. Our findings suggest that, in Nepal, adoption of improved technologies and practices is significantly increased by improved access to markets, private sector involvement in selling improved seeds and disseminating information, membership in progressive farmers groups and cooperative societies, participation in agricultural training and farm visits, provision of subsidies for seeds, and access to credit. We also found the probability of the adoption of improved practices to be affected by farmers’ sources of information; for instance, the adoption of improved practices was increased when farmers obtained information from informal sources, cooperatives/farmers organizations, and public and private extension programs. The effects of KISAN projects vary significantly across the different crops grown, based on the evaluation models that address self-selection of both project participation and crop choices. These implications may also apply to other parts of the world facing similar challenges as Nepal, where limited market access, insufficient knowledge and resource capacity of farmers constrain their adoption of improved technologies and practices in agriculture.
Resource allocation for agricultural research in South Asia: Trends, challenges, and policy implications
Stads, Gert-Jan. Dhaka, Bangladesh 2019
Stads, Gert-Jan. Dhaka, Bangladesh 2019
Abstract | View
Quantitative evidence presented in this report demonstrates that total public agricultural research and development (R&D) spending in South Asia has risen considerably since 2000. This trend was largely driven by India, which has the highest investment levels and strongest human resource capacity in agricultural research South Asia by far (in terms of absolute size, average qualification levels of researchers, and the scientific outputs they produce). Compared with India, agricultural R&D faces greater challenges in the four other South Asian countries for which data were available (Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka). Underinvestment in agricultural R&D in these countries is considerable, and agricultural research staff is significantly lessqualified than in India, the combined result of prolonged recruitment freezes, losses of highly qualified senior staff, limited training opportunities, and an aging population of researchers. In addition, political instability in some countries has either delayed or complicated much needed institutional and policy reforms. The scientific competence of South Asia’s agricultural R&D agencies is high, particularly in India, but as in many developing regions of the world, stronger linkages are needed to connect agricultural research agencies and their staff with the end users of their research to improve the relevance, effectiveness, and efficiency of research outputs. Further efforts to strengthen sub-regional linkages are also needed in order to better utilize limited resources and reduce wasteful duplication. In addition, good governance is key to promoting the effectiveness and efficiency of research, and ongoing policy and institutional reform will be needed to further strengthen agricultural R&D and innovation in South Asia.
Diet quality over time is associated with better development in rural Nepali children
Miller, Laurie C.; Neupane, Sumanta; Joshi, Neena; Shrestha, Merina; Neupane, Shailes; Lohani, Mahendra; Thorne‐Lyman, Andrew L.. Oxford, UK 2020
Miller, Laurie C.; Neupane, Sumanta; Joshi, Neena; Shrestha, Merina; Neupane, Shailes; Lohani, Mahendra; Thorne‐Lyman, Andrew L.. Oxford, UK 2020
DOI : 10.1111/mcn.12964
Abstract | View
Developmental delays affect between 150 and 200 million children <5 years of age worldwide. Outside of diet supplement studies, relatively little is known about the relationships between diet quality and developmental status in resource‐poor settings. We examined associations between different aspects of dietary quality (dietary diversity score [DDS] and animal‐source food [ASF] consumption) and child development (assessed using the Ages and Stages Questionnaire‐3 [ASQ‐3]) among children whose families were enrolled in a community development intervention trial (implemented by Heifer Nepal) in western Nepal. Two sets of analyses were performed: (a) cross‐sectional Sample (N = 629) seen at the endline survey and (b) longitudinal sample (N = 269) with complete dietary records (six surveys over 48 months). In both samples, child development was significantly related to household wealth, maternal education, and especially home environmental quality. In the cross‐sectional sample, greater consumption of eggs (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0.80, p = .04) or dairy products (aOR 0.95, p = .05) over the previous 7 days significantly reduced odds of low total ASQ score, by logistic regression analysis. In the longitudinal sample, only egg consumption and cumulative DDS and ASF scores were associated with significantly reduced odds of low total ASQ score (aORs 0.59–0.89). In adjusted linear regression analysis, both cumulative DDS (β [CI]: 1.92 [0.4, 3.5]) and ASF scores (2.46 [0.3, 4.7]) were significantly associated with greater continuous total child development. Programmes targeting child development must address home environmental quality as well as long‐term diet quality.
Food trade in Bangladesh, India and Nepal
Ajmani, Manmeet; Choudhary, Vishruta; Kishore, Avinash; Roy, Devesh. New Delhi, India 2019
Ajmani, Manmeet; Choudhary, Vishruta; Kishore, Avinash; Roy, Devesh. New Delhi, India 2019
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.133587
Abstract | View
Food and agricultural trade among different parts of the world can increase access to a wider variety and better quality of agricultural inputs and foods to farmers and consumers at lower prices and increase incomes of farmers and other participants in the value chain. This report* looks at the extent of food trade in Bangladesh, India and Nepal (BIN) among themselves and with the rest of the world using trade data from UN Comtrade (United Nations 2019) from 1996 to 2016. We also food trade in BIN with the neighbouring ASEAN countries who also have high dependence on agriculture. Food here includes a) cereals and vegetables, b) live animals and animal-based and c) processed foods. There is a lot of informal, undocumented trade across the 1751 km long open border between India and Nepal and the 4097 km porous Bangladesh-India border. However, our analysis covers only the formal trade because we do not have reliable estimates of the volume and the value of the informal food trade in the region.
.
.
Assessing food and nutrition security in Nepal: Evidence from diet diversity and food expenditure patterns
Kumar, Anjani; Thapa, Ganesh; Mishra, Ashok K.; Joshi, Pramod Kumar. 2020
Kumar, Anjani; Thapa, Ganesh; Mishra, Ashok K.; Joshi, Pramod Kumar. 2020
DOI : 10.1007/s12571-019-01004-y
Costs of diesel pump irrigation systems in the Eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains: What options exist for efficiency gains?
Foster, Tim; Adhikari, Roshan; Urfels, Anton; Adhikari, Subash; Krupnik, Timothy J.. Washington, DC 2019
Foster, Tim; Adhikari, Roshan; Urfels, Anton; Adhikari, Subash; Krupnik, Timothy J.. Washington, DC 2019
Abstract | View
Groundwater irrigation plays a critical role in supporting food security, rural livelihoods and economic development in South Asia. Yet, large disparities in groundwater access and use remain across the region. In the Western Indo-Gangetic Plains (WIGP) of India and Pakistan, subsidized rural electrification and fuel for groundwater pumping has enabled significant growth in agricultural productivity over recent decades (Shah 2007). In many areas, groundwater development has however also contributed to over-extraction and aquifer depletion, especially in the WIGP (MacDonald et al. 2016; Mukherjee et el., 2017). In contrast, groundwater resources in the Eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains (EIGP) of Nepal and eastern India remain underexploited; current aggregated rates and areas of irrigation also appear to be only a fraction of estimated development potential (Saha et al., 2016). This limits farmers’ ability to grow crops outside the monsoon season, or to manage risks posed by rainfall
variability and dry spells within the monsoon – both of which contribute to low productivity and rural poverty.
variability and dry spells within the monsoon – both of which contribute to low productivity and rural poverty.
What is the intrinsic value of fertilizer? Experimental value elicitation and decomposition in the hill and terai regions of Nepal
Ward, Patrick S.; Gupta, Shweta; Singh, Vartika; Ortega, David L.; Gautam, Shriniwas. 2020
Ward, Patrick S.; Gupta, Shweta; Singh, Vartika; Ortega, David L.; Gautam, Shriniwas. 2020
DOI : 10.1016/j.foodpol.2019.101809
Introduction
Thapa, Ganesh; Kumar, Anjani; Joshi, Pramod Kumar. Singapore 2019
Thapa, Ganesh; Kumar, Anjani; Joshi, Pramod Kumar. Singapore 2019
DOI : 10.1007/978-981-32-9648-0_1
Development of balanced nutrient management innovations in South Asia: Lessons from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka
Kishore, Avinash; Alvi, Muzna; Krupnik, Timothy J.. Washington, DC 2019
Kishore, Avinash; Alvi, Muzna; Krupnik, Timothy J.. Washington, DC 2019
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.133513
Abstract | View
As part of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)/Washington and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation supported Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) and the USAID/Nepal Seeds and Fertilizer (NSAF) project, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) organized a Regional Dialogue on September 5, 2019, in Kathmandu on “Innovations for Advancing Farmers’ Use of Balanced Nutrient Application in South Asia.” The aim of the event was to facilitate cross-country dialogues on efficient nutrient management in the region. The event saw participation from central and regional government
representatives from policy and extension, private fertilizer companies and fertilizer federations, researchers from CGIAR centers, as well as representatives of the donor community. Participants came from India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Interactive discussions were centred around three main themes: (a) cross-country learning and evidence sharing on policies and subsidies to promote balanced nutrient application, (b) market, policy, and product innovations in the fertilizer industry, and (c) learnings and insights on the development of innovative methods in research and extension targeted to farmers. This policy brief summarizes seven key lessons learned from the discussions in the workshop.
representatives from policy and extension, private fertilizer companies and fertilizer federations, researchers from CGIAR centers, as well as representatives of the donor community. Participants came from India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Interactive discussions were centred around three main themes: (a) cross-country learning and evidence sharing on policies and subsidies to promote balanced nutrient application, (b) market, policy, and product innovations in the fertilizer industry, and (c) learnings and insights on the development of innovative methods in research and extension targeted to farmers. This policy brief summarizes seven key lessons learned from the discussions in the workshop.
Food demand system and projections to 2035: Nepal
Kumar, Praduman; Kumar, Anjani; Joshi, Pramod Kumar. Singapore 2019
Kumar, Praduman; Kumar, Anjani; Joshi, Pramod Kumar. Singapore 2019
DOI : 10.1007/978-981-32-9648-0_7
Use of chemical fertilizers in Nepal: Issues and implications
Takeshima, Hiroyuki. Singapore 2019
Takeshima, Hiroyuki. Singapore 2019
DOI : 10.1007/978-981-32-9648-0_9
Agricultural research and extension system in Nepal: An organizational review
Babu, Suresh Chandra; Sah, Ram Pratap. Singapore 2019
Babu, Suresh Chandra; Sah, Ram Pratap. Singapore 2019
DOI : 10.1007/978-981-32-9648-0_11
Concluding chapter: The policy agenda
Thapa, Ganesh; Kumar, Anjani; Joshi, Pramod Kumar. Singapore 2019
Thapa, Ganesh; Kumar, Anjani; Joshi, Pramod Kumar. Singapore 2019
DOI : 10.1007/978-981-32-9648-0_20
Household food expenditure, dietary diversity, and child nutrition in Nepal
Kumar, Anjani; Thapa, Ganesh B.; Joshi, Pramod Kumar. Singapore 2019
Kumar, Anjani; Thapa, Ganesh B.; Joshi, Pramod Kumar. Singapore 2019
DOI : 10.1007/978-981-32-9648-0_4
Nepal’s changing governance structure and implications for agricultural development
Kyle, Jordan; Resnick, Danielle. Singapore 2019
Kyle, Jordan; Resnick, Danielle. Singapore 2019
DOI : 10.1007/978-981-32-9648-0_19
Agricultural mechanization in Nepal: Patterns, impacts, and enabling strategies for promotion
Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Bhattarai, Madhusudan. Singapore 2019
Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Bhattarai, Madhusudan. Singapore 2019
DOI : 10.1007/978-981-32-9648-0_10
Agricultural transformation in Nepal: Trends, prospects, and policy options
Thapa, Ganesh, ed.; Kumar, Anjani, ed.; Joshi, Pramod Kumar, ed.. Singapore 2019
Thapa, Ganesh, ed.; Kumar, Anjani, ed.; Joshi, Pramod Kumar, ed.. Singapore 2019
DOI : 10.1007/978-981-32-9648-0
Multisectoral community development in Nepal has greater effects on child growth and diet than nutrition education alone
Miller, Laurie C.; Neupane, Sumanta; Joshi, Neena; Lohani, Mahendra; Rogers, Beatrice L.; Neupane, Shailes
. 2020
Miller, Laurie C.; Neupane, Sumanta; Joshi, Neena; Lohani, Mahendra; Rogers, Beatrice L.; Neupane, Shailes
. 2020
DOI : 10.1017/S136898001900260X
Cooperative membership, contracts, and production efficiency: A selectivity-corrected analysis of smallholder farmers
Khanal, Aditya R.; Mishra, Ashok K.; Kumar, Anjani. 2019
Khanal, Aditya R.; Mishra, Ashok K.; Kumar, Anjani. 2019
DOI : 10.22004/ag.econ.291147
Abstract | View
Background: Cooperatives are considered as efficient institutional innovation for smallholders to access input and output; Cooperatives can help balance the power between contractors and smallholders in contract farming (CF); Cooperatives play an integral role in CF in Nepal (Mishra et al. 2018); The relationship between participation in agricultural cooperatives and farm performance is not fully conclusive; some studies have explored the production efficiency about cooperative membership (Abate et al. 2014; Gedara et al. 2012) and have found mixed evidence about the relationship; None of the previous studies have examined the relationships between cooperative membership and technical efficiency for the high-value crops, like tomato in a developing country context; This study estimates the selectivity-corrected stochastic frontier analysis for the tomato growers in Nepal, accounting for selection bias in efficiency estimation, emphasizing the role of cooperative CF on technical efficiency.
IFPRI in Asia
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Washington, DC 2019
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Washington, DC 2019
Abstract | View
Highlights of IFPRI’s current cutting-edge, policy-relevant research in Central, East, South, and Southeast Asia are featured in this brochure. IFPRI works with partners throughout Asia to contribute to effective policies, programs, and investments that help ensure all people have access to safe, sufficient, nutritious, and sustainably grown food across the continent.
Institutional and policy related research gaps for climate resilient farming system intensification: A study in Eastern Indo-Gangetic Plain
Kishore, Avinash; Pandey, Divya; Pal, Barun Deb; Joshi, Pramod Kumar; Tyagi, N. K.. Singapore 2019
Kishore, Avinash; Pandey, Divya; Pal, Barun Deb; Joshi, Pramod Kumar; Tyagi, N. K.. Singapore 2019
DOI : 10.1007/978-981-10-8171-2_2
Nepal
Stads, Gert-Jan; Shrestha, Hari K.; Nin-Pratt, Alejandro; Thi Pham, Nguyen. Washington, DC 2019
Stads, Gert-Jan; Shrestha, Hari K.; Nin-Pratt, Alejandro; Thi Pham, Nguyen. Washington, DC 2019
Abstract | View
Agricultural research investment and human resource capacity in Nepal have grown rapidly in recent years in response to increased government funding; in 2016, the country invested 0.42 percent of its AgGDP in agricultural research. NARC is by far the largest agency conducting agricultural research, accounting for nearly 80 percent of Nepal’s agricultural research investments and human resource capacity. Nepal’s research agencies lack the infrastructure and critical mass of researchers needed to address the multidisciplinary challenges the agricultural sector is facing. It is important that recent government support be sustained in the long run.
Mechanization growth and declining farm size in South Asia: Exploring the role of biological technologies in Nepal Terai
Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Liu, Yanyan. Washington, DC 2019
Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Liu, Yanyan. Washington, DC 2019
Abstract | View
The agricultural sector in developing countries including those in South Asia, like Nepal, faces dual challenges of the persistent dominance of smallholder-based farming, and at the same time, rising labor costs due partly to growing non-farm sectors. The underlying factors that lead to the co-existence of these seemingly conflicting patterns are not yet clear. However, an important consequence is that inclusive agricultural transformation requires increased agricultural capital use like machines among these smallholders that remain in the agricultural sector. Studying the experiences in lowland Nepal (Terai zone) which has seen significant growth in tractor use since the mid-90s, despite the continuous decrease in average farm size, offers useful insights into what induce the adoptions of mechanization among smallholders who naturally lack the scope for exploiting the scale economies due to complementarity between machine and land. We test the hypotheses that high-yielding technologies, which potentially raise returns to more intensive farm power use, are important drivers of adoptions of agricultural mechanization among smallholders. We do so by using two-rounds of Agricultural Census data in Nepal, as well as Nepal Living Standard Survey (NLSS), and indicators of agroclimatic similarity with plant-breeding locations within Nepal.
Property rights, intersectionality, and women's empowerment in Nepal
Pradhan, Rajendra; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth Suseela; Theis, Sophie. 2019
Pradhan, Rajendra; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth Suseela; Theis, Sophie. 2019
DOI : 10.1016/j.jrurstud.2019.05.003
Evaluating risk of aflatoxin field contamination from climate change using new modules inside DSSAT
Thomas, Timothy S.; Robertson, Richard D.; Boote, Kenneth J.. Washington, DC 2019
Thomas, Timothy S.; Robertson, Richard D.; Boote, Kenneth J.. Washington, DC 2019
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.133372
Abstract | View
Aflatoxins affect the health of close to 70 percent of the population of the world through contaminated food. Smallholder farmers in developing countries can be especially hard hit, since they consume a high proportion of what they produce without a clear knowledge of the level of contamination their harvest might have. Climate change can cause dramatic shifts in the level of contamination and the frequency of that high levels of aflatoxins are found in harvested foods, particularly maize and groundnuts. In this paper, we introduce new software that is able to estimate potential field concentrations of aflatoxins based on weather, and then apply the software to the question of how projected changes in climate will affect the occurrence of aflatoxins in six countries. The analysis is done at a very fine geographic resolution so that problem areas within countries are also identified. For rainfed groundnuts, baseline period calculations using the module show fairly high frequency of expected contamination levels above 4 ppb for Burkina Faso and Niger (39 and 56 percent), while Nigeria has a more modest estimate of 14 percent. However, factoring in climate change, we find great variation in projections. One of the five climate models used in the analysis projects a much wetter region which serves to drive down aflatoxin concentrations steeply. However, others have lower or even negative projections for changes in rainfall and coupled with temperature increases (large in some climate models), three of the five climate models project rising aflatoxin concentrations. The frequency of projected contamination levels above 4 ppb in rainfed maize are high in the baseline for Niger, at 43 percent, though Niger grows little maize. Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Guatemala, and Honduras all have more modest projections in the baseline (8, 9, 4, 10), while Nepal has just a trace above 0. Aflatoxin concentrations are projected to rise with climate change by all 5 models for Nepal, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nigeria, but only rise for 3 models for Niger and 4 of the 5 models for Burkina Faso. We use regressions with weather variables on projected aflatoxin concentrations levels above 4 ppb to better understand critical levels of rainfall and temperature that could trigger local crises with aflatoxins in on-farm consumption of harvested foods. At the end of the paper, we examine why aflatoxin concentrations in Nepal as reported by the modeling results appear low despite aflatoxins being a significant issue for the country.
Impact of contract farming of paddy seed on smallholder farm profits: Evidence from Nepal
Kumar, Anjani; Roy, Devesh; Joshi, Pramod Kumar; Tripathi, Gaurav; Adhikari, Rajendra P.. 2019
Kumar, Anjani; Roy, Devesh; Joshi, Pramod Kumar; Tripathi, Gaurav; Adhikari, Rajendra P.. 2019
DOI : 10.5958/0974-0279.2019.00003.X
La banca para los pobres
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Washington, D.C. 2003
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Washington, D.C. 2003
Abstract | View
This policy brief is designed to help policymakers and practitioners understand the financial services needed by the poor. It is based on a five-year IFPRI research program that examined, among other issues, the roles government should play in providing financial services to meet the needs of the poor, through a series of detailed household surveys conducted in nine countries of Africa and Asia: Bangladesh, Cameroon, China, Egypt, Ghana, Madagascar, Malawi, Nepal, and Pakistan.... [The brief asks us to consider these questions:] What kinds of financial services do the poor value? What economic activities are the poor engaged in, and what implications does this have for the type of services to be provided? What are existing sources of financial services, and how do the poor use them? What combination of financial instruments—credit, savings, insurance — are best developed, given specific demand from different types of clients? Do delivery systems (credit union, village banking, group-based lending) take into account the prevailing socioeconomic environments or local organizational systems? What unconventional methods do the poor use to secure loans? Can these collateral substitutes be used within a more formalized banking system? In the lending or granting of public resources, are incentives in place to encourage competitive, sustainable, efficient, and entrepreneurial microfinance institutions? Are regulations in place that govern mutually supportive transactions between the clients (borrowers) and institutions (lenders), such as deposit insurance and contract enforcement? Are prudential regulations, such as accounting practices and reporting requirements, balanced so that they ensure sustainability, good management, and accountability of microfinance institutions without stifling innovation? Would the introduction or expansion of microfinance services in a region be one of the most socially cost-effective ways to alleviate poverty there, given the state of infrastructure and markets, the availability of services, and the existence of other antipoverty and development programs in the region?
Does greater food safety consciousness benefit smallholder dairy farmers? Evidence from Nepal
Thapa, Ganesh; Kumar, Anjani; Roy, Devesh; Joshi, Pramod Kumar. Washington, DC 2019
Thapa, Ganesh; Kumar, Anjani; Roy, Devesh; Joshi, Pramod Kumar. Washington, DC 2019
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.133206
Abstract | View
Food quality and safety have been the central issues of food economics and are considered among the most important food attributes. However, evidence of the impact of food safety consciousness on consumers' food purchasing behavior is limited. This paper studies the impact of food safety consciousness on weekly milk expenditure, milk price paid, milk quantity purchased, and the probability of purchasing milk from modern market outlets in Nepal. We conducted dairy consumer survey in four selected districts of the country and employed an instrumental variable regression and quantile instrumental variable to estimate the heterogeneous treatment effects. The results suggest that education, income, and social network are the major factors that positively influence food safety consciousness. An increase in the food safety consciousness level by 1% increases the weekly milk expenditure, milk price paid, and weekly milk purchased by 1.37%, 0.66%, and 1.27%, respectively. Furthermore, we found that an increase in food safety consciousness by 1% is associated with a 37% higher probability of selecting a modern milk outlet. At higher levels of food safety consciousness, female-headed households are significantly more likely to purchase milk from modern outlets in comparison to male-headed households. Our findings imply that increasing food safety consciousness is likely to improve food security (through more consumption of milk and other healthy food) and the welfare of smallholder dairy farmers (through increased milk demand and higher milk prices paid by consumers).
What is the true value of fertilizer? An assessment of farmers willingness-to-pay for fertilizers across the hill and Terai regions of Nepal
Ward, Patrick S.; Gupta, Shweta; Singh, Vartika; Gautam, Shriniwas; Guerena, David. Washington, DC 2019
Ward, Patrick S.; Gupta, Shweta; Singh, Vartika; Gautam, Shriniwas; Guerena, David. Washington, DC 2019
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.133196
Abstract | View
Agriculture in Nepal has historically suffered from low levels of productivity. Inadequate usage of fertilizer, poor fertilizer quality, and insufficient supply to satisfy demand have been identified among the major reasons behind this low productivity (Joshi, 2010). Other factors such as land fragmentation, lack of irrigation, lack of good quality seeds, inadequate public investment and more recently climate change (e.g., Niroula & Thapa; Joshi et al., 2012; Ghimire et al., 2015; Malla, 2008) also remain as challenges for Nepalese agriculture. Both the Agriculture Perspective Plan (APP, 1994-2014) and the Agriculture Development Strategy (ADS, 2015-2034) have recognized the deficiencies in the fertilizer supply chain and have prioritized the widespread distribution and utilization of fertilizers as essential elements in their development strategies (Bista et al., 2016). With continuation of the fertilizer distribution issues, a voucher system has been proposed in the ADS (2015-2035) but is yet to be implemented. As with any type of transfer policy, proper identification of intended beneficiaries and calibration of voucher payments is critical for its successful rollout. It is therefore imperative that all concerned stakeholders including government agencies garner a more complete understanding of the true demand of chemical fertilizers to optimize policy design. Through this study, we determine the implicit value farmers place on fertilizers as well as other perennial costs associated with obtaining fertilizers, such as travel costs and certainty premia.
What is the intrinsic value of fertilizer? Experimental value elicitation and decomposition in the hill and terai regions of Nepal
Ward, Patrick S.; Gupta, Shweta; Singh, Vartika; Ortega, David L.; Gautam, Shriniwas; Guerena, David; Shrestha, Rudra Bahadur. Washington, DC 2019
Ward, Patrick S.; Gupta, Shweta; Singh, Vartika; Ortega, David L.; Gautam, Shriniwas; Guerena, David; Shrestha, Rudra Bahadur. Washington, DC 2019
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.133150
Abstract | View
The government in Nepal faces double burden of enhancing fertilizer application rates in the country by investing in efforts to boost demand and at the same time, managing its dependence on global markets to fulfill the supply of important nutrients such as Urea and DAP. Without an understanding of the true valuation of fertilizers for farmers, achieving this balance would be difficult. We use Becker-DeGroot-Marshak value elicitation methods to derive the intrinsic value that farmers in Nepal place on fertilizers. Eliciting values under three distinct procurement scenarios, we are able to decompose the total intrinsic value of fertilizer into a willingness-to-pay (WTP) to travel to procure fertilizer, a WTP for assured fertilizer supplies, and a WTP for the productivity benefits of fertilizer. Disaggregating our sample according to location (hills versus terai), we are able to estimate differences in total intrinsic value as well as value components along these geographical dimensions. While farmers in the hills are generally willing to pay more for urea than their counterparts in the terai, the total amount they are willing to pay is, on average, less than the market price for urea. We explore heterogeneity in valuations and discuss the implications of our findings on fertilizer procurement and distribution policies, as well as direct support policies that the Nepal government may consider. While support policiessuch as subsidies may encourage increased utilization of fertilizers, policies that lower barriers to private sector entry and increase the density of fertilizer retailers could also increase fertilizer utilization.
Agricultural research and extension system in Nepal: An organizational review
Babu, Suresh Chandra; Sah, Ram Pratap; . Washington, DC 2019
Babu, Suresh Chandra; Sah, Ram Pratap; . Washington, DC 2019
DOI : 10.2499/p15738coll2.133142
Abstract | View
This paper aims to address the status and challenges of agriculture research and extension and their linkages in Nepal. Agriculture plays a vital role in Nepal’s economy, employment, and livelihoods, contributing nearly 33 percent to gross domestic product, 66 percent to employment, and 50 percent to exports. Despite the government of Nepal’s (GON’s) priority and policy supports for more than two decades, the growth of agriculture has been very slow (less than 3.0 percent), mainly due to inadequate access to demand-driven technologies and extension services and to inputs, credits, markets, and incentives. Dynamic agriculture research and extension systems are instrumental for bringing transformations in agriculture.
Adoption and diffusion of improved technologies and production practices in agriculture: Insights from a donor-led intervention in Nepal
Kumar, Anjani; Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Adhikari, Naveen; Thapa, Ganesh; Joshi, Pramod Kumar; Karkee, Madhab. Washington, DC 2018
Kumar, Anjani; Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Adhikari, Naveen; Thapa, Ganesh; Joshi, Pramod Kumar; Karkee, Madhab. Washington, DC 2018
Abstract | View
Adoptions of improved technologies and production practices are important drivers of agricultural development in low-income countries like Nepal. There are still knowledge gaps concerning what determines the adoption of different types of technologies and practices, how information about them is diffused, and what general impacts the interventions promoting them are having. In this paper we partly close the gap, using data collected for evaluations of the Knowledge-Based Integrated Sustainable Agriculture in Nepal (KISAN) project led by USAID. We find that factors important to increasing the adoption of improved technologies and practices include improved access to markets, the role of the private sector in selling improved seeds and disseminating information, membership in progressive farmers’ groups and cooperative societies, participation in agricultural training and farm visits, the provision of subsidies for seeds, and access to credit. Different factors are also found to affect the sources that farmers use for gathering information before adoption. The effects of KISAN projects vary significantly across the different crops grown, based on the evaluation models that address self-selection of both project participation and crop choices.
Delivering more with less: Subnational service provision in low capacity states
Kyle, Jordan; Resnick, Danielle. 2019
Kyle, Jordan; Resnick, Danielle. 2019
DOI : 10.1007/s12116-018-9276-z
Abstract | View
In developing countries, low state capacity frequently is blamed for poor and uneven service delivery. Yet, since state capacity manifests unevenly across space and sectors, identifying which elements of capacity are more likely to enhance service delivery is not straightforward. We examine how subnational variation in capacity affects access to agricultural extension in rural Nepal. We explore six dimensions of state capacity using original household survey data and interviews with local bureaucrats. We find that local knowledge and motivation of bureaucrats play a significant role in shaping service access. By contrast, traditional capacity indicators—including resources, professionalization, and autonomy—matter surprisingly little. These findings suggest that bureaucrats working with fewer but more motivated staff who spend more time in a district are more likely to facilitate citizens’ access to agricultural extension. Placebo tests add confidence that relationships are not driven by unobservables. Scholarship on state capacity traditionally has been unable to measure capacity disaggregated by geography and sector, and, as a result, has struggled to link empirically different elements of capacity with service delivery. This paper begins to address this gap and in doing so, offers broader implications for the dynamics of rural development.
South Asia Regional Office (SAR)
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Washington, DC 2018
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Washington, DC 2018
Abstract | View
Achieving food and nutrition security is a complex challenge. This is especially true in South Asia, where 40 percent of the world’s poor—who survive on less than US$1.25 a day—live and 21 percent of the population is undernourished. Yet countries in South Asia have seen marked improvements in socioeconomic development in recent years. South Asia encompasses only 3 percent of the world’s land, but is home to about a quarter of the world’s population (1.6 billion people). While agriculture is a critical component of food and nutrition security, it is interlinked with water, energy, infrastructure, and policy challenges. Apart from this, natural resources are under additional pressure due to population growth, income growth, urbanization, changing consumer preferences, and climate change. Against this backdrop, the IFPRI South Asia Regional Office (SAR) in New Delhi engages in evidence-based policy research and capacity-building activities related to food and nutrition security in the region. The research focuses on agricultural diversification, climate change, markets and trade, nutrition and health, science and technology, and governance, contributing directly to the strategic research areas established by IFPRI’s 2018–2020 Strategy.
Water, sanitation, and hygiene practices mediate the association between women's empowerment and child length for‐age z‐scores in Nepal
Cunningham, Kenda; Ferguson, Elaine; Ruel, Marie T.; Uauy, Ricardo; Kadiyala, Suneetha; Menon, Purnima; Ploubidis, George B.. 2019
Cunningham, Kenda; Ferguson, Elaine; Ruel, Marie T.; Uauy, Ricardo; Kadiyala, Suneetha; Menon, Purnima; Ploubidis, George B.. 2019
DOI : 10.1111/mcn.12638
Abstract | View
In Nepal, more than one‐third of children are stunted. Prior studies have shown that women's empowerment in agriculture is associated with child (<2 years) length‐for‐age z ‐scores (LAZ) in Nepal. This study tests whether child dietary diversity (DD) and household water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) facilities and practices mediate the associations between women's empowerment and LAZ. With a cross‐sectional dataset of 4,080 households from 240 rural communities across 16 districts of Nepal, we used ordinary least squares regression models to first estimate the associations between women's empowerment and LAZ for children 6 to 24 months (n = 1,402; our previous published analysis included all children <24 months of age), using the Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index's Five Domains of Empowerment subindex. We used standardized structural equation models to test whether child DD and/or household WASH mediated the association between women's empowerment and child LAZ. Overall, women's empowerment was positively associated with child LAZ (β = 0.24, P = 0.03), as found in our previous analyses. In the mediation analysis, women's empowerment was positively associated with WASH (β = 0.78, P < 0.001), and in turn child LAZ (β = 0.09, P < 0.001). Women's empowerment was not associated with DD, but DD was associated with LAZ (β = 0.06, P = 0.05). Empowered women had better WASH practices than nonempowered women, which translated into higher child LAZ. Child DD was not a mediating factor in the association between women's empowerment and child LAZ. More research is needed to explore other pathways by which women's empowerment may affect child nutrition outcomes.
Enhancing agriculture and ending poverty: IFPRI and Japan [in Japanese]
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Washington, DC 2018
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Washington, DC 2018
Abstract | View
人間の安全保障と質の高い成長へ向けて、日本は世界規模での貧困削減、農業・農村開発、人類の健康と栄養の向上に貢献している。国際食糧政策研究所（IFPRI）も研究の成果をもとに、貧困、飢餓と栄養不足を持続可能なかたちで削減させるための政策提言を通じて、同じ目標に向かっている。日本は、30年以上にわたりアフリカとアジアにおいて、IFPRIと連携し、農業の近代化から開発能力の向上、そして栄養の改善といった様々な共通の課題への取り組みを支援してきた。日本の長年にわたる支援によって、IFPRIの研究成果はより蓄積し、途上国の政策に影響を与え、さらには日本の開発援助に知見を提供してきた。以下では、この協力関係の成果を要約する。
人間の安全保障と質の高い成長へ向けて、日本は世界規模での貧困削減、農業・農村開発、人類の健康と栄養の向上に貢献している。国際食糧政策研究所（IFPRI）も研究の成果をもとに、貧困、飢餓と栄養不足を持続可能なかたちで削減させるための政策提言を通じて、同じ目標に向かっている。日本は、30年以上にわたりアフリカとアジアにおいて、IFPRIと連携し、農業の近代化から開発能力の向上、そして栄養の改善といった様々な共通の課題への取り組みを支援してきた。日本の長年にわたる支援によって、IFPRIの研究成果はより蓄積し、途上国の政策に影響を与え、さらには日本の開発援助に知見を提供してきた。以下では、この協力関係の成果を要約する。
Does women's time in domestic work and agriculture affect women's and children's dietary diversity? Evidence from Bangladesh, Nepal, Cambodia, Ghana, and Mozambique
Komatsu, Hitomi; Malapit, Hazel J.; Theis, Sophie. 2018
Komatsu, Hitomi; Malapit, Hazel J.; Theis, Sophie. 2018
DOI : 10.1016/j.foodpol.2018.07.002
Abstract | View
There are concerns that increasing women’s engagement in agriculture could negatively affect nutrition by limiting the time available for nutrition-improving reproductive work. However, very few empirical studies provide evidence to support these concerns. This paper examines the relationship between women’s time spent in domestic work and agriculture and women’s and children’s dietary diversity. Using data from Bangladesh, Nepal, Cambodia, Ghana, and Mozambique, we find that women’s domestic work and cooking time are positively correlated with more diverse diets. We also find differential effects depending on asset poverty status. In Mozambique, working long hours in agriculture is negatively associated with women’s dietary diversity score in nonpoor women, but is positively associated with poor women’s dietary diversity and poor children’s minimum acceptable diet. This suggests that agriculture as a source of food and income is particularly important for the asset poor. Our results reveal that women’s time allocation and nutrition responses to agricultural interventions are likely to vary by socioeconomic status and local context.
Impact of contract farming on yield, costs and profitability in low‐value crop: Evidence from a low‐income country
Mishra, Ashok K.; Kumar, Anjani; Joshi, Pramod Kumar; D'Souza, Alwin. 2018
Mishra, Ashok K.; Kumar, Anjani; Joshi, Pramod Kumar; D'Souza, Alwin. 2018
DOI : 10.1111/1467-8489.12268
Does contract farming improve profits and food safety? Evidence from tomato cultivation in Nepal
Kumar, Anjani; Roy, Devesh; Tripathi, Gaurav; Joshi, Pramod Kumar; Adhikari, Rajendra Prasad. 2018
Kumar, Anjani; Roy, Devesh; Tripathi, Gaurav; Joshi, Pramod Kumar; Adhikari, Rajendra Prasad. 2018
DOI : 10.1108/JADEE-09-2017-0095
Enhancing agriculture and ending poverty: IFPRI and Japan
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Washington, DC 2018
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Washington, DC 2018
Abstract | View
For more than 30 years, Japan has partnered with IFPRI in Africa and Asia, providing support for areas of shared concern—from agricultural modernization to capacity strengthening to nutrition. Evidence from IFPRI research, which has benefited from long-term Japanese support, has influenced policies in the countries of research and informed Japan’s investments in development. This brochure highlights the achievements of our partnership.
Nepal’s 2072 Federal Constitution: What are the implications for governance of the agricultural sector?
Kyle, Jordan; Resnick, Danielle. Washington, DC 2018
Kyle, Jordan; Resnick, Danielle. Washington, DC 2018
Abstract | View
In September 2015, Nepal’s Constituent Assembly passed a new constitution aimed at transforming Nepal from a unitary country into a federal republic with three levels of government: the federation, the province, and the local level. This institutional shift will have wide-ranging social, political, and economic implications for the country. However, this brief focuses specifically on the implications of these federal reforms for the agricultural sector and the Ministry of Agriculture (MoAD). Agriculture is the backbone of the Nepali economy, providing a livelihood for approximately two-thirds of the population, contributing one-third of the country’s GDP, and constituting over half of its exports. With greater authority and autonomy granted to more subnational units of government, ensuring that the agricul-tural sector is guided by coordinated planning, retains sufficient human capacity, and receives adequate fiscal resources will be of para-mount importance during the transition to a federal republic. Consequently, this brief addresses how the sector can be restructured to meet the constitutional provisions while simultaneously ensuring that MoAD delivers on its agricultural objectives, especially those out-lined in its Agricultural Development Strategy (ADS).
Mechanize or exit farming? Multiple‐treatment‐effects model and external validity of adoption impacts of mechanization among Nepalese smallholders
Takeshima, Hiroyuki. Medford, MA 2018
Takeshima, Hiroyuki. Medford, MA 2018
DOI : 10.1111/rode.12407
Cooperatives, contract farming, and farm size: The case of tomato producers in Nepal
Mishra, Ashok K.; Kumar, Anjani; Joshi, Pramod Kumar; D'Souza, Alwin. 2018
Mishra, Ashok K.; Kumar, Anjani; Joshi, Pramod Kumar; D'Souza, Alwin. 2018
DOI : 10.1002/agr.21563
Grandmothers’ knowledge positively influences maternal knowledge and infant and young child feeding practices
Karmacharya, Chandi; Cunningham, Kenda; Choufani, Jowel; Kadiyala, Suneetha. 2017
Karmacharya, Chandi; Cunningham, Kenda; Choufani, Jowel; Kadiyala, Suneetha. 2017
DOI : 10.1017/S1368980017000969
The impact of the International Food Policy Research Institute's research program on rural finance policies for food security for the poor
Alwang, Jeffrey; Puhazhendhi, V.. Washington, D.C. 2002
Alwang, Jeffrey; Puhazhendhi, V.. Washington, D.C. 2002
Abstract | View
This study examines the contributions of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) between 1993 and 2001 to analysis, outreach, capacity building, and training related to the role of rural finance in poverty reduction. The IFPRI multicountry research project on Rural Finance Policies for Food Security for the Poor involved data-intensive research by more than 14 research fellows on the impacts of access to rural financial services in countries. This report examines the contribution of the program within four countries where microfinance research and outreach activities were conducted and its contribution to global knowledge about rural finance and food security....It addresses issues of critical importance: (1) does microfinance have an impact on the poor, and is this impact achieved through better risk management as well as increased income generation?, (2) does the structure of financial service providers matter in supporting this impact?, and (3) how can the microfinance industry be made more sustainable?.... Malawi, Bangladesh, Ghana and Nepal were selected for analysis of research impacts." -- taken from Authors' Abstract.
Implications of bulk water transfer on local water management institutions
Pant, Dhruba; Bhattarai, Madhusudan; Basnet, Govinda. Washington, D.C. 2008
Pant, Dhruba; Bhattarai, Madhusudan; Basnet, Govinda. Washington, D.C. 2008
DOI : 10.2499/CAPRiWP78
Abstract | View
To mitigate a drinking water crisis in Kathmandu valley, the Government of Nepal initiated the Melamchi Water Supply Project in 1997, which will divert water from the Melamchi River to Kathmandu city's water supply network. In the first phase, the Project will divert 170,000 cubic meters of water per day (at the rate of 1.97M3/sec), which will be tripled using the same infrastructure as city water demand increases in the future. The large scale transfer of water would have farreaching implications in both water supplying and receiving basins. This paper analyzes some of the major changes related to local water management and socioeconomics brought about by the Project and in particular the changes in the local water management institutions in the Melamchi basin. Our study shows that traditional informal water management institutions were effective in regulating present water use practices in the water supplying basin, but the situation will vastly change because of the scale of water transfer, and power inequity between the organized public sector on one side and dispersed and unorganized marginal water users on the other. The small scale of water usage and multiple informal arrangements at the local level have made it difficult for the local users and institutions to collectively bargain and negotiate with the central water transfer authority for a fair share of project benefits and compensation for the losses imposed on them. The process and scale of project compensation for economic losses and equity over resource use are at the heart of the concerns and debates about the Melamchi water transfer decision. The Project has planned for a one-time compensation package of about US$18 million for development infrastructure related investments and is planning to share about one percent of revenue generated from water use in the city with the supplying basin. The main issues here are what forms of water sharing governance, compensation packages, and water rights structures would emerge in relation to the project implementation and whether they are socially acceptable ensuring equitable distribution of the project benefits to all basin communities. In addition, these issues of the Melamchi project discussed in this paper are equally pertinent to other places where rural to urban water transfer projects are under discussion.
The role of plant-breeding R&D in tractor adoptions among smallholders in Asia: Insights from Nepal Terai
Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Liu, Yanyan. Washington, DC 2018
Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Liu, Yanyan. Washington, DC 2018
Abstract | View
Combining agricultural census data from Nepal from 2001 and 2011 with various spatial agroclimatic data, we show that increase in yield potentials due to the introduction of high-yield technologies (particularly improved seed varieties) plays an important role in smallholders’ tractor adoption in Nepal Terai. We use a novel instrumental variable, agroclimatic similarity between farmers’ and plant breeding institutes’ locations, to instrument the adoption of improved seed varieties. To our knowledge, our study offers the first direct evidence that mechanization growth among smallholders is partly induced by the introduction of high-yield technologies.
Nepal-India agricultural trade: Trends, issues and prospects
Sharma, Ramesh; Kumar, Anjani; Joshi, Pramod Kumar. 2017
Sharma, Ramesh; Kumar, Anjani; Joshi, Pramod Kumar. 2017
DOI : 10.5958/0974-0279.2017.00046.5
Property rights, intersectionality, and women’s empowerment in Nepal
Pradhan, Rajendra; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth Suseela; Theis, Sophie. Washington, D.C. 2018
Pradhan, Rajendra; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth Suseela; Theis, Sophie. Washington, D.C. 2018
DOI : 10.2499/1020502310
Abstract | View
In this paper, we explore how different norms around property rights affect the empowerment of women of different social positions over the life cycle. We first review the conceptual foundations of property, empowerment, and intersectionality, and then present the methodology and empirical findings from ethnographic field work in Nepal. Going beyond formal ownership of property, we look at changes in property rights over personal and joint property at different stages of women’s lives. Finally, the paper makes recommendations for how research and development projects, especially in South Asia, can avoid misinterpreting asset and empowerment data by incorporating nuance around the concepts of property rights over the household life cycle.
Impact of crop diversification on rural poverty in Nepal
Thapa, Ganesh; Kumar, Anjani; Roy, Devesh; Joshi, Pramod Kumar. 2018
Thapa, Ganesh; Kumar, Anjani; Roy, Devesh; Joshi, Pramod Kumar. 2018
DOI : 10.1111/cjag.12160
Improving the equity and effectiveness of Nepal’s fertilizer subsidy program
Kyle, Jordan; Resnick, Danielle; Karkee, Madhab. Washington, D.C. 2017
Kyle, Jordan; Resnick, Danielle; Karkee, Madhab. Washington, D.C. 2017
Abstract | View
This paper examines the fertilizer subsidy program in Nepal from two different angles, both important for policy makers in the country. First, it analyzes who is benefiting from the program, and second, it examines how farmers rank the importance of public spending on fertilizer subsidies compared with other potential public investments. Whereas the former question is important for judging whether the program is meeting its objectives, the latter is essential to understanding the scope for reform, in particular the extent to which we could expect citizens to resist reforms to the subsidy program. We draw on these analyses as well as on examples from other countries to make policy recommendations to improve program implementation.
Household food expenditure, dietary diversity, and child nutrition in Nepal
Thapa, Ganesh; Kumar, Anjani; Joshi, Pramod Kumar. Washington, D.C. 2017
Thapa, Ganesh; Kumar, Anjani; Joshi, Pramod Kumar. Washington, D.C. 2017
Abstract | View
Using data from the 1995–1996 and 2010–2011 rounds of the Nepal Living Standards Survey, we study the empirical connections between household food expenditure and nutrition outcomes of children below the age of five years using multilevel and dose-response function approaches. We also examine the effects of dietary quality changes on child nutrition improvement between 1995 and 2011 employing Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition. We find that number of food groups consumed, monthly food expenditure, dietary diversity, and the expenditure shares on fruits and vegetables and animal protein have a positive impact on the expected height-for-age Z-scores. The dietary changes explain about 71 percent of the improvement in those scores between 1995 and 2011, underscoring the importance of dietary quantity, dietary diversity, and nutrient-dense food items for child nutrition outcomes.
Food expenditure patterns and dietary diversity in Nepal: Is dietary quality improving?
Kumar, Anjani; Thapa, Ganesh B.; Joshi, Pramod Kumar. Washington, D.C. 2017
Kumar, Anjani; Thapa, Ganesh B.; Joshi, Pramod Kumar. Washington, D.C. 2017
Abstract | View
The paper measures dietary diversity among different income groups in Nepal and identifies the drivers of this diversity as a first step toward addressing the widespread prevalence of nutrient deficiency. The level of diversity in household diets is an indirect measure of dietary quality and the extent to which the nutritional needs of households are being met. However, there is limited understanding of the trends, patterns, and determinants of dietary diversity in Nepal. This study is an attempt to enrich the literature on this issue. Drawing on unit-level data from three rounds (1995, 2004, and 2011) of the Nepal Living Standards Survey (NLSS), we use multilevel modeling, quantile regression, and the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition method to decipher the trends, determinants, and drivers of dietary diversity in Nepal. Our study finds that changes in household sociodemographic and agricultural characteristics are very important in explaining the improvement in dietary quality. Changes in household characteristics account for at least 37 percent of the observed improvement, and agriculture-related changes explain at least 16 percent of the observed improvement. Variables positively associated with dietary quality are remittances, social cash transfers, parents’ education, crop diversity, access to markets and paved roads, and ownership of a television and telephone, among others. Our findings are highly robust across the different model specifications. Our study concludes by calling for a multisectoral approach to tackle nutrition issues in Nepal.
Trade liberalization and food security in Nepal
Pyakuryal, Bishwambher; Thapa, Ganesh B.; Roy, Devesh. Washington, D.C. 2005
Pyakuryal, Bishwambher; Thapa, Ganesh B.; Roy, Devesh. Washington, D.C. 2005
Abstract | View
"Among South Asian countries, Nepal has liberalized most extensively during the 1980s and 1990s on both fronts, domestic and external. Nepal is a least developed country with a gross national product of US $235 per capita in 2001 and second lowest per capita wealth in the world. In South Asia, Nepal has the lowest per capita income, highest dependence of population on agriculture and second highest poverty rate. At the same time, on an average, Nepal has the lowest tariffs in South Asia and has taken several steps to downsize its public distribution system and remove a host of agricultural subsidies. This twin scenario where the lowest per capita income country is perhaps also the most liberalized makes for an interesting case for policy analysis. This paper reviews the outcomes from the liberalization policies followed by Nepal relating to food security." -- from Authors' Abstract
Adoption of milk safety measures and its impact on milk acceptance by buyers in Nepal
Dongol, Prabin; Thapa, Ganesh; Kumar, Anjani. 2017
Dongol, Prabin; Thapa, Ganesh; Kumar, Anjani. 2017
DOI : 10.5958/0974-0279.2017.00008.8
Overview of the evolution of agricultural mechanization in Nepal: A focus on tractors and combine harvesters
Takeshima, Hiroyuki. Washington, D.C. 2017
Takeshima, Hiroyuki. Washington, D.C. 2017
Abstract | View
This study was conducted to understand the evolution of agricultural mechanization in Nepal, specifically its determinants on both the demand and supply sides, as well as impacts on agricultural production and associations with broader economic transformation processes, in order to draw lessons that can be conveyed to other less mechanized countries. Mechanization levels in Nepal, a largely agricultural country, were relatively low until a few decades ago. However, significant mechanization growth, including the adoption of tractors, has occurred since the 1990s, against a backdrop of rising rural wages, particularly for plowing, combined with growing emigration and growth in key staple crop yields and overall broad agricultural production growth, as well as improved market access and participation. This growth in mechanization has taken place despite the general absence of direct government support or promotion. The growth of tractor use in the plains of the Terai zone has transformed agricultural production rather than inducing labor movement out of agriculture, raising overall returns to scale in intensification and enabling the cultivation of greater areas by medium smallholders than by resource-poor smallholders. Tractors have also facilitated the intensification of crop production per unit of land among very small farmers, enabling mechanization growth despite the continued decline in farm size, although these farmers may not have benefited as much as medium smallholders. Potential future research areas with policy relevance include mitigating accessibility constraints to tractor custom hiring services, identifying appropriate regulatory policies for mechanization, and providing complementary support to some smallholders who may not fully benefit from tractor adoption alone.
Adoption of food safety measures on milk production in Nepal: Impact on smallholders’ farm-gate prices and profitability
Kumar, Anjani; Thapa, Ganesh; Roy, Devesh; Joshi, Pramod Kumar. 2017
Kumar, Anjani; Thapa, Ganesh; Roy, Devesh; Joshi, Pramod Kumar. 2017
DOI : 10.1016/j.foodpol.2017.05.002
Food consumption pattern and dietary diversity in Nepal: Implications for nutrition security
Kumar, Anjani; Kumar, Praduman; Joshi, Pramod Kumar. 2017
Kumar, Anjani; Kumar, Praduman; Joshi, Pramod Kumar. 2017
DOI : 10.1177/0973703017698899
Agricultural diversification in Nepal: Status, determinants, and its impact on rural poverty
Thapa, Ganesh; Kumar, Anjani; Joshi, Pramod Kumar. Washington, D.C. 2017
Thapa, Ganesh; Kumar, Anjani; Joshi, Pramod Kumar. Washington, D.C. 2017
Abstract | View
As in many parts of the developing world, the share of high value crops in agricultural gross domestic product (AgGDP) has increased substantially in Nepal. We contribute to the literature on trends in agricultural development in the poorest countries by answering the research question on “Does transition from traditional to high-value agriculture reduce rural poverty in poor developing countries”? We also identified the drivers leading to this transition. The study uses survey data from three rounds of the nationally representative Nepal Living Standard Surveys: NLSS I (1994/1995), NLSS II (2004/2005) and NLSS III (2010/2011). Multi-level model was used to study the determinants of agricultural diversification. To estimate the causal impact of agricultural diversification on welfare measures, propensity score matching and instrumental variable techniques were used. Results indicate that there has been a rightward shift in the distribution of the share (percent) of high-value crops between 1995 and 2004 and between 2004 and 2010, respectively. The area as well as the shared by major cereals (paddy, maize, and wheat) is declining over years. However, it is increasing for high-value crops (potato, vegetables, spices/condiments, and fruits). The percentage increase in share of the high-value crops was higher in or adjacent to urbanized districts between 1995 and 2010. The factors positively associated with the agricultural diversification are female-headed households, caste, mother's education, net-buyer status, urban region, remittance, farm size, kitchen garden, improved seeds, telephone and refrigerator. We found positive impact of agricultural diversification towards high-value crops on rural poverty and monthly per capita consumption expenditure. However, for cereal crops grower, we find the negative impact on poverty and monthly per capita consumption expenditure.
Heterogeneous returns to chemical fertilizer at the intensive margins: Insights from Nepal
Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Adhikari, Rajendra Prasad; Shivakoti, Sabnam; Kaphle, Basu Dev; Kumar, Anjani. 2017
Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Adhikari, Rajendra Prasad; Shivakoti, Sabnam; Kaphle, Basu Dev; Kumar, Anjani. 2017
DOI : 10.1016/j.foodpol.2017.03.007
Accounting for nutritional changes in six success stories: A regression-decomposition approach
Headey, Derek D.; Hoddinott, John F.; Park, Seollee. 2017
Headey, Derek D.; Hoddinott, John F.; Park, Seollee. 2017
DOI : 10.1016/j.gfs.2017.02.003
Maternal and child nutrition in Nepal: Examining drivers of progress from the mid-1990s to 2010s
Cunningham, Kenda; Headey, Derek D.; Singh, Akriti; Karmacharya, Chandni; Rana, Pooja Pandey. 2017
Cunningham, Kenda; Headey, Derek D.; Singh, Akriti; Karmacharya, Chandni; Rana, Pooja Pandey. 2017
DOI : 10.1016/j.gfs.2017.02.001
Custom-hired tractor services and returns to scale in smallholder agriculture: a production function approach
Takeshima, Hiroyuki. 2017
Takeshima, Hiroyuki. 2017
DOI : 10.1111/agec.12339
Nepal’s 2072 federal constitution: Implications for the governance of the agricultural sector
Kyle, Jordan; Resnick, Danielle. Washington, D.C. 2016
Kyle, Jordan; Resnick, Danielle. Washington, D.C. 2016
Abstract | View
In this paper we explore the implications of Nepal’s new federal Constitution—passed in September 2015—for governance of the agricultural sector. Agriculture is the backbone of the Nepali economy, providing a livelihood for approximately two-thirds of the population, contributing one-third of the country’s GDP, and constituting more than half of the country’s exports. In transitioning from a unitary to a federal republic—with greater authority and autonomy granted to subnational units of government—it is of paramount importance to ensure that the agricultural sector is guided by coordinated planning, retains sufficient human capacity, and receives adequate fiscal resources. These considerations are particularly important given that the governance of Nepal’s agricultural sector already suffers from poor coordination, low human resources capacity, and inadequate financial resources. Addressing these issues may become more difficult under a federal structure. This paper begins by laying out the main challenges for agricultural governance in Nepal under the current structure. To do so, it relies on an original survey of 100 district agricultural and livestock officers in charge of local agricultural service delivery in Nepal as well as perspectives collected through more than two dozen semi-structured interviews with officials from the Ministry of Agricultural Development, the Ministry of Livestock Development, civil society, the private sector, and donors. Because Nepal is embarking on a pathway to more decentralized governance, which has been well-trodden by a number of other countries, the paper proceeds by examining five case studies, drawing lessons from India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, and South Africa. Based on these analyses, the paper offers policy recommendations on how the sector can be restructured to meet the constitutional provisions, while simultaneously ensuring that the government can deliver on its long-term objectives to develop the agricultural sector.
Effects of agricultural mechanization on smallholders and their self-selection into farming: An insight from the Nepal Terai
Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Shrestha, Rudra Bahadur; Kaphle, Basu Dev; Karkee, Madhab; Pokhrel, Suroj; Kumar, Anjani. Washington, D.C. 2016
Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Shrestha, Rudra Bahadur; Kaphle, Basu Dev; Karkee, Madhab; Pokhrel, Suroj; Kumar, Anjani. Washington, D.C. 2016
Abstract | View
This research was undertaken to better assess the role of mechanization in the future of smallholder farmers in Nepal. It addresses the knowledge gap about whether promoting mechanization that is often complementary to land can effectively support smallholders, particularly in the face of a growing nonfarm sector. Rising rural wages in Nepal have increasingly put pressures on smallholder farmers, who tend to operate labor-intensive farming. Agricultural mechanization through custom hiring of tractor services has recently been considered as an option to mitigate the impact of rising labor costs for smallholders. However, the benefit of agricultural mechanization may still be better captured by exploiting the economies of scale of medium to large farmers rather than smallholders. In the meantime, the Nepal agricultural sector still employs a disproportionate share of workers given its share in the economy, potentially depressing agricultural labor productivity. It is therefore an important policy question whether to (1) continue supporting smallholders through custom-hired tractor services or (2) encourage smallholders to rent their farms out to medium-size or larger farmers, while helping smallholders specialize in the nonfarm sector, where their labor productivity may be higher. Using samples from the Terai zone—one of the agroecological belts in Nepal, largely consisting of lowland plains— from the Nepal Living Standards Survey, we assess whether the benefits of hiring in tractor services are greater among medium to large farmers than among smallholders, and how these benefits may depend on smallholders’ decision to remain in or leave farming. This study also contributes to the impact evaluation literature by showing that jointly assessing the effects of two treatments (whether to adopt custom-hired tractor services and continue farming, or to search for better options and specialize in off-farm activities) can lead to different implications than assessing them separately. Our analyses suggest that the government should continue to promote custom-hired tractor services not only for medium to large farmers but also for smallholders. If, over time, barriers to specializing in nonfarm activities are lowered and more smallholders start leaving farming, mechanization may no longer benefit the remaining smallholders. Support for mechanization can then be focused more on medium to large farmers, while types of support other than mechanization can be devised for the remaining smallholders.
Farm size and effects of chemical fertilizer price on farm households: Insights from Nepal Terai
Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Shivakoti, Sabnam; Bhattarai, Binod; Karkee, Madhab; Pokhrel, Suroj; Kumar, Anjani. Washington, D.C. 2016
Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Shivakoti, Sabnam; Bhattarai, Binod; Karkee, Madhab; Pokhrel, Suroj; Kumar, Anjani. Washington, D.C. 2016
Abstract | View
This research explores how inputs such as chemical fertilizer that are often complementary to labor can benefit smallholders in countries like Nepal. These and other inputs complement labor when a country experiences periods of increased labor scarcity due to rising wages in rural areas. The future of smallholders in Asian countries is vigorously debated in the policy and research arena. An increasing number of studies indicate that in the face of rising rural farm wages, growing mechanization is gradually shifting the advantages enjoyed by smallholders to slightly larger farms in many Asian countries, including Nepal. While the evidence is limited, earlier studies suggest that this trend may also be associated with a greater return to the use of chemical fertilizers by larger farms than by their smaller counterparts. In this paper, we further assess the relationship between the role of chemical fertilizer and farm size in lowland Nepal. In particular, we assess the different effects of chemical fertilizer price on large versus small farm households, depending on farm size. We use the 2003 and 2010 panel data from the Nepal Living Standard Survey. Results generally suggest that in Nepal Terai, lower chemical fertilizer price seems to increase the per capita incomes of farm households with larger landholdings more than it does those with smaller landholdings. The mechanism is somewhat complicated; typically, larger farms benefit through an increased supply of crops from sharecropped/rented farms, which leads to a potential increase in forage supply and increased revenues from livestock production. However, greater benefits for larger farms through this mechanism remains consistent with the greater return to chemical fertilizer among larger farms. This is contrary to the notion that chemical fertilizer is a land-saving input that benefits smaller farms relatively more than it does larger farms. We conclude that fertilizer policy in Nepal should be designed within the broader framework of longer-term agricultural-sector strategies that will impact the future of smallholder farmers.
Seeing the forest through the trees: Community forestry in Nepal
Ojha, Hemant; Persha, Lauren; Chhatre, Ashwini. Washington, D.C. 2009
Ojha, Hemant; Persha, Lauren; Chhatre, Ashwini. Washington, D.C. 2009
Adoption of food safety measures among Nepalese milk producers: Do smallholders benefit?
Kumar, Anjani; Thapa, Ganesh; Joshi, Pramod Kumar; Roy, Devesh. Washington, D.C. 2016
Kumar, Anjani; Thapa, Ganesh; Joshi, Pramod Kumar; Roy, Devesh. Washington, D.C. 2016
Abstract | View
Food safety is the most vital component of food security. One option to ensure food safety is through enhancing compliance at the farm level. This study investigates the status, estimates the cost, identifies the determinants, and assesses the impact of compliance with food safety measures in milk production in Nepal. The study is based on cross-section primary data collected at the farm level from six districts of Nepal. These districts are known for milk production and capture the geographical and institutional diversity of milk production in the country. The study shows that the status of compliance with food safety measures at the dairy farm level is not very encouraging. The intensity with which food safety practices are adopted shows wide inter- and intra-district variations. This intensity depicts a positive relationship to herd size. The additional cost of compliance with food milk safety measures reveals an inverse relationship with herd size. The factors associated with the adoption of food safety measures are caste, number of children and elderly people in a family, household labor size, herd size, access to information, inspection for conformity with the safety and quality standards in dairy farming, perception of households about food safety assistance provided by milk buyers, and market outlet types. We also provide evidence of the impact of food safety measures on farm-gate prices and farmers’ profitability.
Improving the effectiveness of collective action
Acharya, Krishna P.; Gentle, Popular. Washington, D.C. 2006
Acharya, Krishna P.; Gentle, Popular. Washington, D.C. 2006
Abstract | View
"The forest management strategy of Nepal is based on people’s participation, which is known as community forestry. This approach was formally introduced in 1978 to encourage active participation of local people in forest management activities as a means to improve their livelihoods. Under the community forestry structure, local people make decisions regarding forest management, utilization and distribution of benefits from a forest; they are organized as a Community Forest User Group. Presently about 1.2 million hectares of forest is under the control of about 14,000 Community Forest User Groups. It has received highest priority within the forestry sector and is one of the most successful development initiatives in Nepal. However, emerging evidence indicates that forest user groups have excluded rather than included women’s participation in their activities. This paper is based on the findings from six forest users groups implementing a program aimed at strengthening governance at the local level through increased women’s participation and increased advocacy skills and capacity of selected civil society groups. It presents the process of women’s empowerment in forest user groups by describing changes made in those groups once women begin participating and holding key decision-making positions. The findings note significant variation in funds allocated for social and community development activities, which are necessary to address the issues of poverty and social equity in Nepal. In addition, they note the importance of building both the capacity of individual women leaders and an enabling environment to support the women’s initiatives. A collaborative and inclusive approach that includes women and marginalized groups as committee executives and members of local government bodies is necessary to build the enabling environment." -- Authors' Abstract
Nepal country brief
Cunningham, Kenda; Singh, Akriti; Headey, Derek D.; Pandey Rana, Pooja; Karmacharya, Chandni. Brighton, UK 2016
Cunningham, Kenda; Singh, Akriti; Headey, Derek D.; Pandey Rana, Pooja; Karmacharya, Chandni. Brighton, UK 2016
Abstract | View
This brief summarises the findings from a research study – Stories of Change in Nutrition in Nepal – which is about how Nepal rapidly reduced undernutrition among children under 2 years of age and their mothers. This Nepal study specifically aims to answer three questions: 1) What were the drivers of reductions in maternal and child undernutrition? 2) What were the key policies and programs in Nepal behind these drivers? and 3) What challenges and opportunities face Nepal to further reduce undernutrition (including those related to the Multi-sector Nutrition Plan)?
Impact of contract farming on profits and yield of smallholder farms in Nepal: An evidence from lentil cultivation
Kumar, Anjani; Roy, Devesh; Joshi, Pramod Kumar; Tripathi, Gaurav; Adhikari, Rajendra Prasad. 2016
Kumar, Anjani; Roy, Devesh; Joshi, Pramod Kumar; Tripathi, Gaurav; Adhikari, Rajendra Prasad. 2016
Abstract | View
This study is undertaken to quantify the benefits of contract farming (CF) on farmers’ income in a case where new market opportunities are emerging for smallholder farmers in Nepal. CF is emerging as an important form of vertical coordination in the agrifood supply chain. The prospect for CF in a country like Nepal with accessibility issues, underdeveloped markets, and lack of amenities remains ambiguous. On the one hand, contractors find it difficult to build links in these cases, particularly when final consumers have quality and safety requirements. On the other hand, lack of other market opportunities makes the contracts more sustainable. The latter happens if there are product-specific quality advantages because of agroecology and, more important, lack of side-selling opportunities. At the same time concerns remain about monoposonistic powers of the buyers when small farmers do not have outside options. Results of this study show that CF is significantly more profitable (81 percent greater net income) than independent production, the main pathway being higher yield and price realization. The positive impact of CF on farmers’ profits can help Nepal in harnessing the growing demand for pulses, especially in neighboring international markets, like India.
A4NH 2015 annual report
CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH). Washington, D.C. 2016
CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH). Washington, D.C. 2016
Abstract | View
In its fourth year, the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH) has many accomplishments to be proud of and much to look forward to. By the end of 2015, biofortified staple foods had reached approximately 15 million people. The aflasafe™ approach for controlling aflatoxins was registered in Kenya, Nigeria, and Senegal, with country investments secured to scale it up. The successful Together for Nutrition initiative expanded from India to Ethiopia, bringing together a range of nutrition stakeholders. The Global Nutrition Report (GNR) 2015 was released alongside the launch of the Sustainable Development Goals, building off the success of GNR 2014 to guide nutrition action. Our research portfolio is expanding to include food systems and we are exploring new collaborations with public health partners. Our country and regional engagement contributes to agricultural programs and policies that can better achieve nutrition and health impacts. We also hear loud and clear from the development community that achieving these outcomes is a priority, and that doing so at scale requires making agriculture and other sectors more nutrition and health-sensitive.
Impact of contracts in high yielding varieties seed production on profits and yield
Mishra, Ashok K.; Kumar, Anjani; Joshi, Pramod Kumar; D'souza, Alwin. 2016
Mishra, Ashok K.; Kumar, Anjani; Joshi, Pramod Kumar; D'souza, Alwin. 2016
DOI : 10.1016/j.foodpol.2016.05.005
Reaching new heights: 20 years of nutrition progress in Nepal
Cunningham, Kenda; Singh, Akriti; Headey, Derek D.; Pandey Rana, Pooja; Karmacharya, Chandni. Washington, DC 2016
Cunningham, Kenda; Singh, Akriti; Headey, Derek D.; Pandey Rana, Pooja; Karmacharya, Chandni. Washington, DC 2016
DOI : 10.2499/9780896295889_13
Abstract | View
DESPITE SIGNIFICANT ECONOMIC growth, South Asia remains notorious for its alarmingly high rates of undernutrition. This “Asian enigma” has long puzzled both researchers and policymakers. However, Nepal’s recent experience presents yet another enigma: a rapid reduction in maternal and child undernutrition during a period of civil war and prolonged political and economic instability. From 1996 to 2011, the prevalence of stunting among children under two years of age fell from 48 to 27 percent, and the prevalence of maternal underweight decreased from 28 to 20 percent.
Environmental migration and labor markets in Nepal
Maystadt, Jean-François; Mueller, Valerie; Sebastian, Ashwini. 2016
Maystadt, Jean-François; Mueller, Valerie; Sebastian, Ashwini. 2016
DOI : 10.1086/684579
Contracting by small farmers in commodities with export potential: Assessing farm profits of lentil growers in Nepal
Kumar, Anjani; Roy, Devesh; Tripathi, Gaurav; Joshi, Pramod Kumar; Adhikari, Rajendra Prasad. Washington, D.C. 2016
Kumar, Anjani; Roy, Devesh; Tripathi, Gaurav; Joshi, Pramod Kumar; Adhikari, Rajendra Prasad. Washington, D.C. 2016
Abstract | View
This study is undertaken to quantify the benefits of contract farming (CF) on farmers’ income in a case where new market opportunities are emerging for smallholder farmers in Nepal. CF is emerging as an important form of vertical coordination in the agrifood supply chain. The prospect for CF in a country like Nepal with accessibility issues, underdeveloped markets, and a lack of amenities remains ambiguous. Contractors find it difficult to build links in these cases, particularly when final consumers have quality and safety requirements. However, a lack of other market opportunities makes the contracts more sustainable. The latter happens if there are product-specific quality advantages because of agroecology and, more important, lack of side-selling opportunities. Concerns remain about monoposonistic powers of the buyers when small farmers do not have outside options. Results of this study show that CF is significantly more profitable (81 percent greater net income) than independent production, the main pathway being higher yield and price realization. The positive impact of CF on farmers’ profits can help Nepal in harnessing the growing demand for pulses, especially in neighboring international markets, like India.
Improving Nepal’s Female Community Health Volunteers’ (FCHV) Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) exposure and knowledge
Cunningham, Kenda; Singh, Akriti; Menon, Purnima; Avula, Rasmi; Pandey Rana, Pooja; Oyloe, Peter; Alayon, Silvia. 2016
Cunningham, Kenda; Singh, Akriti; Menon, Purnima; Avula, Rasmi; Pandey Rana, Pooja; Oyloe, Peter; Alayon, Silvia. 2016
Banking on the poor
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Washington, D.C. 2002
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Washington, D.C. 2002
Abstract | View
This policy brief is designed to help policymakers and practitioners understand the financial services needed by the poor. It is framed within lessons learned from a five-year IFPRI research program that examined, among other issues, the roles government should play in providing financial services to meet the needs of the poor. Insights presented here are based on a series of detailed household surveys conducted in nine countries of Africa and Asia: Bangladesh, Cameroon, China, Egypt, Ghana, Madagascar, Malawi, Nepal, and Pakistan.... [The brief asks us to consider these questions:] What kinds of financial services do the poor value? What economic activities are the poor engaged in, and what implications does this have for the type of services to be provided? What are existing sources of financial services, and how do the poor use them? What combination of financial instruments—credit, savings, insurance — are best developed, given specific demand from different types of clients? Do delivery systems (credit union, village banking, group-based lending) take into account the prevailing socioeconomic environments or local organizational systems? What unconventional methods do the poor use to secure loans? Can these collateral substitutes be used within a more formalized banking system? In the lending or granting of public resources, are incentives in place to encourage competitive, sustainable, efficient, and entrepreneurial microfinance institutions? Are regulations in place that govern mutually supportive transactions between the clients (borrowers) and institutions (lenders), such as deposit insurance and contract enforcement? Are prudential regulations, such as accounting practices and reporting requirements, balanced so that they ensure sustainability, good management, and accountability of microfinance institutions without stifling innovation? Would the introduction or expansion of microfinance services in a region be one of the most socially cost-effective ways to alleviate poverty there, given the state of infrastructure and markets, the availability of services, and the existence of other antipoverty and development programs in the region?" -- Text
Can contract farming increase farmers’ income and enhance adoption of food safety practices?: Evidence from remote areas of Nepal
Kumar, Anjani; Roy, Devesh; Trapathi, Gaurav; Joshi, Pramod Kumar; Adhikari, Rajendra Prasad. Washington, D.C. 2016
Kumar, Anjani; Roy, Devesh; Trapathi, Gaurav; Joshi, Pramod Kumar; Adhikari, Rajendra Prasad. Washington, D.C. 2016
Abstract | View
Growing inequality has become an important concern in many countries. One of the ways that inequality is perpetuated is through differential market access across regions. This research deals with one of the primary determinants of regional inequality manifested in terms of market access. Nepal is one country where hierarchical geography leads to regional inequality. Differential market access can cause as well as accentuate inequality among farmers. Coordination arrangements such as contract farming can improve outcomes for the farmers and integrators on the one hand, but on the other hand it can accentuate inequality if only some regions benefit from it. With this background, in this paper we study the case of contract farming for exports with farmers in remote hilly areas of Nepal. The prospect for contract farming in such areas with accessibility issues owing to underdeveloped markets and lack of amenities is ambiguous. On the one hand, contractors in these areas find it difficult to build links, particularly when final consumers have quality and safety requirements. On the other hand, remoteness can make the contracts more sustainable if the agroecology offers product-specific quality advantages and, more important, if there is a lack of side-selling opportunities. At the same time, concerns remain about buyers’ monopsonistic powers when remotely located small farmers do not have outside options. This study hence quantifies the benefits of contract farming on remotely located farmers’ income and compliance with food safety measures. Results show that contract farming is significantly more profitable (offering a 58 percent greater net income) than independent production, the main pathway being higher price realization, along with training on practices and provision of quality seeds.
Agriculture-nutrition linkages and child health in the presence of conflict in Nepal
Bageant, Elizabeth; Liu, Yanyan; Diao, Xinshen. Washington, D.C. 2016
Bageant, Elizabeth; Liu, Yanyan; Diao, Xinshen. Washington, D.C. 2016
Abstract | View
Much policy and research attention has focused on the relationship between agriculture and nutrition. We extend this analysis to the context of Nepal’s decade-long civil conflict. Understanding how conflict or similar stress mitigates the agriculture-nutrition linkage is essential to developing impactful agriculture and nutrition policy in potential conflict zones. To our knowledge, there is no prior empirical work on the link between agriculture and nutrition in the context of conflict. We find a robust relationship between milk consumption and anthropometric outcomes. We also show a positive link between milk production and milk consumption at the household level. We find significant negative relationships between conflict and milk consumption for households owning few livestock while such relationships do not exist for larger holders. We attribute these heterogeneous effects to conflict-related productivity declines and milk price increases, both of which disproportionately affect households with fewer livestock and lower milk-production capacity. Among rural households in Nepal, milk production could serve as a nutritional buffer in times of conflict or other stress, and thus, policies that promote households’ livestock production could be effective measures in improving resilience of the rural poor against shocks that negatively affect child health outcomes.
Determinants of chemical fertilizer use in Nepal: Insights based on price responsiveness and income effects
Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Adhikari, Rajendra Prasad; Kaphle, Basu Dev; Shivakoti, Sabnam; Kumar, Anjani. Washington, D.C. 2016
Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Adhikari, Rajendra Prasad; Kaphle, Basu Dev; Shivakoti, Sabnam; Kumar, Anjani. Washington, D.C. 2016
Abstract | View
Although overall chemical fertilizer use has grown steadily in Nepal in the past two decades, much of that growth has occurred in the Terai agroecological belt while use has stagnated in the Hills and the Mountains regions. Differences in chemical fertilizer use intensity between the Terai and the latter regions are typically pronounced among medium-to-large-size farmers. Using three rounds of the Nepal Living Standards Survey as well as secondary data, we examine the determinants of inorganic fertilizer (urea and DAP) use, as well as the marginal income returns from fertilizer use at the farm-household level. Similarities in soil and climate between farm locale and Agriculture Research Station locale seem to increase demand for fertilizer—even after controlling for distance to those stations. Most important, demand for chemical fertilizer is affected by the real fertilizer price (particularly since the 2003 NLSS survey), but the price response is relatively weaker in the Hills and Mountains, suggesting that returns to fertilizer may be generally low in those regions, and that reducing fertilizer price through subsidies on fertilizer or transportation may not substantially increase fertilizer use. This is confirmed by assessment of the returns to chemical fertilizer use estimated through generalized propensity score matching and ordinary propensity score matching. The findings cast doubt on the effectiveness of fertilizer subsidies as an instrument for stimulating chemical fertilizer use in Nepal, particularly among medium-to-large-scale farmers in the Hills, and point toward alternative measures like increased research and development into technologies that raise overall returns to chemical fertilizer.
Is access to tractor service a binding constraint for Nepali Terai farmers?
Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Adhikari, Rajendra Prasad; Kumar, Anjani. Washington, DC 2016
Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Adhikari, Rajendra Prasad; Kumar, Anjani. Washington, DC 2016
Abstract | View
Using results from the three rounds of Nepal Living Standard Surveys (conducted in 1995, 2003, and 2010), this study empirically assesses whether access to rented tractors or custom hiring services is a binding constraint on the income growth of farm households in Nepal. Because four-wheel tractors of medium horsepower are still the primary suppliers of these tractor services, access to these services can be restricted. First, we investigated the determinants of the adoption of hired tractors as well as the intensity of their use (measured by real annual expenditures on renting tractors). Results suggest that the adoption and the intensity patterns are generally consistent with the conventional theory of the demand for agricultural mechanization, indicating that the supply of these services may be relatively efficient in meeting the demand. However, adoption is still affected by the presence of tractor owners within the same village district committee, indicating that the proximity to tractor service providers may still partly determine accessibility. This second point was more formally tested using matching estimators within the Terai region of Nepal. It was found that, on average, the supply of tractor services might have evolved to a relatively efficient level in the Terai so that those who benefited from renting in tractors generally had access to such services. However, for at least certain segments of farm households in the Terai, insufficient access to tractor services was still a binding constraint on the growth of farm household incomes. The policy implications of these findings are briefly discussed in the last section.
Understanding the rapid reduction of undernutrition in Nepal, 2001–2011
Headey, Derek D.; Hoddinott, John F.. 2015
Headey, Derek D.; Hoddinott, John F.. 2015
DOI : 10.1371/journal.pone.0145738
Land cover classification and change detection analysis using LandSat series and geospatial datasets in Nepal from 1980 to 2010
Guo, Zhe; Shrastha, R.; Zhang, Wei; Bhandary, Prapti; Yu, Gennong; Di, Liping. 2015
Guo, Zhe; Shrastha, R.; Zhang, Wei; Bhandary, Prapti; Yu, Gennong; Di, Liping. 2015
DOI : 10.1109/Agro-Geoinformatics.2015.7248159
2015 Nutrition country profile: Nepal
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Washington, DC 2015
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Washington, DC 2015
Abstract | View
The 193 individual country profiles capture the status and progress of all UN Member States, and the 80+ indicators include a wealth of information on child, adolescent and adult anthropometry and nutritional status, in addition to intervention coverage, food supply, economics, and demography. This tool is particularly useful for nutrition champions at the country-level, as it presents a wide range of evidence needed to assess country progress in improving nutrition and nutrition-related outcomes.
Farm household typologies and mechanization patterns in Nepal Terai: Descriptive analysis of the Nepal living standards survey
Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Adhikari, Rajendra Prasad; Poudel, Mahendra Nath; Kumar, Anjani. Washington, D.C. 2015
Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Adhikari, Rajendra Prasad; Poudel, Mahendra Nath; Kumar, Anjani. Washington, D.C. 2015
Abstract | View
Although Nepal formulated an agricultural mechanization promotion policy in 2014, there is still much to learn about tailoring mechanization policies to different types of farm households. The Terai belt in Nepal has seen steady growth in tractor use in the past 20 years, but heterogeneity exists among farm households. In this study, we use Nepal Living Standards Survey data to analyze such heterogeneity from a farm typology perspective. We characterize farm households based on use of external agricultural inputs, including tractors. Growth of tractor use in the Terai is associated with input use intensification per cultivated area, rather than significant expansion of cultivated area. Tractor use in the Terai appears to have grown as part of such land-saving intensification, although larger farm owners do hire in more tractors. We find that differences in household income portfolios are not straightforward between tractor renters and nonrenters, without clear differences in specialization of economic activities as well as farming systems. Tractor renters consist of various types, including the power-intensive mechanizer, intensive labor hirer, and fertilizer-based intensifier. Such heterogeneity recommends the use of tailored mechanization policy options.
How does women’s time in reproductive work and agriculture affect maternal and child nutrition? Evidence from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ghana, Mozambique, and Nepal
Komatsu, Hitomi; Theis, Sophie; Malapit, Hazel J.. Washington, DC 2015
Komatsu, Hitomi; Theis, Sophie; Malapit, Hazel J.. Washington, DC 2015
Abstract | View
There are concerns that increasing women’s engagement in agriculture could have a negative effect on nutrition because it limits the time available for nutrition-improving reproductive work. However, very few empirical studies have been able to analyze whether these concerns are well-founded. This paper examines whether an increase in women’s time in agriculture adversely affects maternal and child nutrition, and whether the lack of women’s time in reproductive work leads to poorer nutrition. Using data from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ghana, Mozambique, and Nepal, we find that on the whole, in poor households, reductions in women’s reproductive work time are detrimental to nutrition, especially for children. In contrast, women’s and children’s nutrition in nonpoor households is less sensitive to reductions in time on reproductive work. Working long hours in agriculture reduces women’s dietary diversity score in Ghana and nonpoor women’s in Mozambique. However, for poor women and children in Mozambique, and children in Nepal, working in agriculture in fact increases dietary diversity. This suggests that agriculture as a source of food and income is particularly important for the poor. Our results illustrate that women’s time allocation and nutrition responses to agricultural interventions are likely to vary according to socioeconomic status and local context.
Drivers of growth in agricultural returns to scale: The hiring in of tractor services in the Terai of Nepal
Takeshima, Hiroyuki. Washington, D.C. 2015
Takeshima, Hiroyuki. Washington, D.C. 2015
Abstract | View
Returns to scale in agriculture have profound implications on how effectively governments’ various efforts in developing countries lead to agricultural intensification and transformation. Historically, agricultural transformation has often accompanied increasing returns to scale. Little direct evidence exists, however, on what actually causes such an increase, despite knowledge about many factors that are associated with the increase. We fill the knowledge gap by testing whether the hiring in of tractor services has increased returns to scale in agriculture at the household level in the Terai of Nepal, an area that has undergone a rapid increase in tractor use through custom hiring services. Using the Roy–Rubin framework of identifying causal mechanisms, combined with endogenous switching regression methods and IPW-GMM, we address two sources of endogeneity involved with the estimation of returns to scale: (a) farmers’ self-selection on whether to hire in tractor services; and (b) use of inputs in the production function. Based on the assumptions of the Cobb–Douglas production function specification and perfect efficiency of farm households, we find that the hiring in of tractor services significantly increased the returns to scale in agricultural production for a certain segment of tractor-hiring farm households not owning tractors, for which suitable control groups are found. Findings are robust under various alternative specifications.
Household decisions, gender, and development: a synthesis of recent research
Quisumbing, Agnes R., ed.. Washington, D.C. 2003
Quisumbing, Agnes R., ed.. Washington, D.C. 2003
Abstract | View
This book synthesizes IFPRI's recent work on the role of gender in household decisionmaking in developing countries, provides evidence on how reducing gender gaps can contribute to improved food security, health, and nutrition in developing countries, and gives examples of interventions that actually work to reduce gender disparities. It is an accessible, easy-to-read synthesis of the gender research that IFPRI has undertaken in the 1990s.
Does case crop adoption detract from childcare provision? Evidence from rural Nepal
Paolisso, Michael J.; Hallman, Kelly; Haddad, Lawrence; Regmi, Shibesh. Washington, D.C. 2003
Paolisso, Michael J.; Hallman, Kelly; Haddad, Lawrence; Regmi, Shibesh. Washington, D.C. 2003
Abstract | View
Reduction of rural poverty is one of the greatest challenges the Government of Nepal faces. Since most of the country’s agricultural production is semi-subsistence-oriented, increased commercialization of this rural-based economy is essential for poverty reduction and economic growth. Consequently, farm output diversification and productivity improvements are high-priority areas for the government.
Changes in intrahousehold labor allocation to environment goods collection: A case study from rural Nepal, 1982 and 1987
Cooke St. Clair, Priscilla. Washington, D.C. 2003
Cooke St. Clair, Priscilla. Washington, D.C. 2003
Abstract | View
This study explores the impact of changes in environmental conditions on household labor allocation to the collection of environmental goods such as fuelwood and leaf fodder for a sample of rural Nepali hill households. Households in rural areas of most developing countries often rely heavily on the surrounding environment for goods such as water, wood, and livestock fodder. Frequently these and other environmental products are collected from local common forestland, a task that in many areas is predominantly carried out by women. Given the increasing pressure on biomass resources in many developing areas and the common gender division of collection labor, there is concern that women in particular will bear the burden of increases in resource scarcity by having to spend more labor time and effort to collect forest products.
Agricultural diversity and child stunting in Nepal
Shively, Gerald E.; Sununtnasuk, Celeste. 2015
Shively, Gerald E.; Sununtnasuk, Celeste. 2015
DOI : 10.1080/00220388.2015.1018900
Women’s empowerment mitigates the negative effects of low production diversity on maternal and child nutrition in Nepal
Malapit, Hazel J.; Kadiyala, Suneetha; Quisumbing, Agnes R.; Cunningham, Kenda; Tyagi, Parul. 2015
Malapit, Hazel J.; Kadiyala, Suneetha; Quisumbing, Agnes R.; Cunningham, Kenda; Tyagi, Parul. 2015
DOI : 10.1080/00220388.2015.1018904
Environmental variability and child growth in Nepal
Shively, Gerald; Sununtnasuk, Celeste; Brown, Molly. 2015
Shively, Gerald; Sununtnasuk, Celeste; Brown, Molly. 2015
DOI : 10.1016/j.healthplace.2015.06.008
Community-driven development and scaling-up of microfinance services
Sharma, Manohar. Washington, D.C. 2004
Sharma, Manohar. Washington, D.C. 2004
Abstract | View
"This case study examines the scaling-up experiences of two microfinance institutions: the Nirdhan Utthan Bank Limited (NUBL) in Nepal and the Self-Help Group (SHG)-Bank linkage program of the National Agricultural Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) in India. Both NUBL and NABARD groups use self-regulation (peer selection, peer monitoring, and peer enforcement of contracts) as key to gaining access to services not otherwise available to them.... The NABARD experience is government-led. NUBL, on the other hand, was established as an alternative to government action. In both cases, government policy in the form of mandatory "priority sector" credit played --and continues to play --a critical role in facilitating expansion. The subsidy content (explicit and implicit) of both NUBL and the NABARD program is quite high, and continued expansion of both programs is highly conditional on whether the policy regime of directed credit continues. Any change in this policy will deal a severe blow to both of these institutions." -- from Authors' Abstract
Does money talk?: Designing safety net programs that work
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Washington, D.C. 2015
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Washington, D.C. 2015
Abstract | View
In the past couple of decades, developing countries have experimented with new ways of designing safety nets to protect their most vulnerable people. They have tried giving cash, providing food, handing over vouchers allowing recipients to buy food, and attaching conditions. But what works best to improve people’s well-being and enhance their food and nutrition security? IFPRI researchers and others have tried to answer this question in different countries and contexts, and the feature article in this issue of Insights looks at their work. The merits of these different approaches to safety nets, it turns out, vary depending on conditions in each community. The rest of this issue of Insights describes other important IFPRI research, touching on many different areas related to food policy. As always, we welcome your thoughts and comments.
Women’s empowerment in agriculture and child nutritional status in rural Nepal
Cunningham, Kenda; Ploubidis, George B.; Menon, Purnima; Ruel, Marie T.; Kadiyala, Suneetha; Uauy, Ricardo; Ferguson, Elaine. 2015
Cunningham, Kenda; Ploubidis, George B.; Menon, Purnima; Ruel, Marie T.; Kadiyala, Suneetha; Uauy, Ricardo; Ferguson, Elaine. 2015
DOI : 10.1017/S1368980015000683
Nepal: Agricultural R&D Indicators Factsheet
Stads, Gert-Jan; Shrestha, Hari K.; Manandhar, Hira K.; Gao, Lang. Washington, D.C. 2015
Stads, Gert-Jan; Shrestha, Hari K.; Manandhar, Hira K.; Gao, Lang. Washington, D.C. 2015
A rapid initial assessment of the distribution and consumption of iron-folic acid tablets through antenatal care in Nepal
Fiedler, John L.; D'Agostino, Alexis; Sununtnasuk, Celeste. Arlington, VA 2014
Fiedler, John L.; D'Agostino, Alexis; Sununtnasuk, Celeste. Arlington, VA 2014
The role of fertilizer in transforming the agricultural economy of Nepal
Pandey, Surya Prasad. Washington, DC 2014
Pandey, Surya Prasad. Washington, DC 2014
Abstract | View
Nepal is a landlocked country, surrounded by India and China with long borders. All merchandise trade, including fertilize trade, is transited through India. Because of its geopolitical location and agroecological conditions, Nepal faces unique challenges in developing a well-functioning fertilizer market. The main objective of this policy brief is to highlight the difficulties a landlocked country faces in procuring fertilizers and the externalities it encounters from neighboring countries fertilizer polices in promoting efficient fertilizer use and supply.
The role of seeds in transforming agriculture in Nepal
Sah, Ram Pratap. Washington, DC 2014
Sah, Ram Pratap. Washington, DC 2014
Abstract | View
Nepal is a landlocked country with wide diversity of climatic conditions, ranging from temperate to tropical. Agriculture is the largest economic sector, contributing 35 percent to GDP and employing two thirds of the total population. Rice is the major staple crop, fol-lowed by maize, wheat, and pulses. These crops are spread across three ecological belts: Hills (42 percent of land area), Mountain (33 percent), and Terai (23 percent). Nepal, once self-sufficient in food, has become a net importer in recent years. Farm size has declined from 1.1 hectares in 1995/1996 to 0.7 hectares in 2010/2011, and 53 percent of households have less than 0.5 hectares. Although the agriculture sector is the most important for the sustainable development of Nepal, its growth rate is low, mainly because of low govern-ment investment. Despite the efforts to disseminate improved seeds, national yields of the three main cereal crops remain low: (rice 3.3 t/ha, wheat 2.4 t/ha, and maize 2.5 t/ha).
2014 Nutrition country profile: Nepal
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Washington, D.C. 2014
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Washington, D.C. 2014
Understanding the rapid reduction of undernutrition in Nepal, 2001-2011
Headey, Derek D.; Hoddinott, John F.. Washington, D.C. 2014
Headey, Derek D.; Hoddinott, John F.. Washington, D.C. 2014
Abstract | View
Given recent interest in reducing undernutrition–particularly the role of nutrition-sensitive policies–this paper aims to quantitatively understand this surprising success story by analyzing the 2001, 2006, and 2011 rounds of Nepal’s Demographic Health Surveys. To do so, the authors first construct and test basic models of the intermediate determinants of child and maternal nutritional change and then decompose predicted changes in nutrition outcomes over time.
On farm conservation of rice biodiversity in Nepal: a simultaneous estimation approach
Gauchan, Devendra; Van Dusen, M. Eric; Smale, Melinda. Washington, D.C. 2005
Gauchan, Devendra; Van Dusen, M. Eric; Smale, Melinda. Washington, D.C. 2005
Abstract | View
"This paper presents an empirical case study about farmer management of rice genetic resources in two communities of Nepal, drawing on interdisciplinary, participatory research that involved farmers, rice geneticists, and social scientists. The decision-making process of farm households is modeled and estimated in order to provide information for the design of community-based conservation programs. A bivariate model with sample selection treats the simultaneous process of whether farmers decide to plant landraces or modern varieties, and whether the landraces they choose to plant constitute genetic diversity of interest for future crop improvement. Findings show that the two landrace choices are affected by different social and economic factors. The estimation procedure demonstrates that in certain cases, however, the decision processes are interrelated. Policies to promote the conservation of local rice diversity will need to take both processes into account. Fitted equations are then used to compare the likelihood that households targeted for conservation according to one set of conservation criteria also meet other conservation criteria. Households most likely to plant landraces identified as important for crop improvement also grow richer, more spatially diverse rice varieties. In these communities, few policy trade-offs would result from employing one set of criteria instead of the other." -- Authors' Abstract
Environmental migration and labor markets in Nepal
Maystadt, Jean-François; Mueller, Valerie; Sebastian, Ashwini. Washington, D.C. 2014
Maystadt, Jean-François; Mueller, Valerie; Sebastian, Ashwini. Washington, D.C. 2014
Abstract | View
While an emerging literature cites weather shocks as major determinants of migration, scant evidence exists on how such migration impacts the labor markets of receiving communities in developing countries. We address this knowledge gap by investigating the impact of weather-driven internal migration on labor markets in a post-conflict country, Nepal, using household survey data in 2003 and 2010.
Measuring progress toward empowerment: Women's empowerment in agriculture index: Baseline report
Malapit, Hazel J.; Sproule, Kathryn; Kovarik, Chiara; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth Suseela; Quisumbing, Agnes R.; Ramzan, Farzana; Hogue, Emily; Alkire, Sabina. Washington, D.C. 2014
Malapit, Hazel J.; Sproule, Kathryn; Kovarik, Chiara; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth Suseela; Quisumbing, Agnes R.; Ramzan, Farzana; Hogue, Emily; Alkire, Sabina. Washington, D.C. 2014
Abstract | View
This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) baseline survey results, summarizing both findings from the WEAI survey and the relationships between the WEAI and various outcomes of interest to the US Government’s Feed the Future initiative. These poverty, health, and nutrition outcomes include both factors that might affect empowerment and outcomes that might result from empowerment. The analysis includes thirteen countries from five regions and compares their baseline survey scores. WEAI scores range from a high of 0.98 in Cambodia to a low of 0.66 in Bangladesh.
Climate adaptation and agriculture
Kissinger, G.; Sova, C.; Allassane, B.; Maïga, I. A.; Benefor, D. T.; Nutsukpo, D. K.; Ky-Zerbo, A. Z.; Roth-Liehoun, C.; King'uyu, S. M.; Orindi, V.; Rojas, E.; Rivera, J. L.; Mishra, J. P.; Singh, R.; Joshi, Pramod Kumar; Kinyangi, J.; Aggarwal, P.; Sebastian, L. S.; Martinez, D.; Neufeldt, H.; Twyman, J.; Bonilla-Findji, O.; Jarvis, A.; Zougmoré, Robert. Copenhagen, Denmark 2014
Kissinger, G.; Sova, C.; Allassane, B.; Maïga, I. A.; Benefor, D. T.; Nutsukpo, D. K.; Ky-Zerbo, A. Z.; Roth-Liehoun, C.; King'uyu, S. M.; Orindi, V.; Rojas, E.; Rivera, J. L.; Mishra, J. P.; Singh, R.; Joshi, Pramod Kumar; Kinyangi, J.; Aggarwal, P.; Sebastian, L. S.; Martinez, D.; Neufeldt, H.; Twyman, J.; Bonilla-Findji, O.; Jarvis, A.; Zougmoré, Robert. Copenhagen, Denmark 2014
Women’s empowerment in agriculture, production diversity, and nutrition: Evidence from Nepal
Kadiyala, Suneetha; Quisumbing, Agnes R.; Cunningham, Kenda; Tyagi, Parul; Malapit, Hazel J.. Washington, DC 2013
Kadiyala, Suneetha; Quisumbing, Agnes R.; Cunningham, Kenda; Tyagi, Parul; Malapit, Hazel J.. Washington, DC 2013
Abstract | View
With the increasing recognition that agricultural growth and development do not necessarily translate into improved nutrition outcomes, policymakers are increasingly grappling with how to design and implement agricultural policies and programs that can also achieve nutritional objectives. Agriculture has direct links to nutrition in that it provides a source of food and nutrients and a broad-based source of income, as well as directly influencing food prices.
Summary of the agro-ecological and socio-economic context for the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA)
Pede, Valerien; Ward, Patrick S.; Spielman, David J.; Paris, Thelma R.. Los Baños, Philippines; Mexico, DF, Mexico; Washington, DC; Nairobi, Kenya 2012
Pede, Valerien; Ward, Patrick S.; Spielman, David J.; Paris, Thelma R.. Los Baños, Philippines; Mexico, DF, Mexico; Washington, DC; Nairobi, Kenya 2012
Abstract | View
The Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) Baseline Household Survey was conducted in late-2010 and early-2011 across eight of the hub domains in which CSISA was operating during its initial phase. The household survey was designed to inform CSISA management as well as to establish a priori conditions (farming practices, farmer livelihoods, etc.) against which the social, economic, and livelihood impacts of CSISA will be evaluated. Pursuant to these objectives, a structured questionnaire was developed in a joint effort of socio-economists from different centers of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), as well as agronomists and hub managers. In all, the baseline household survey collected data on 2,628 households across the CSISA hub domains of Haryana, Punjab, eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Tamil Nadu in India; Dinajpur and Gazipur in Bangladesh; and the Terai region of central Nepal.
Agriculture seed and innovation in Nepal
Joshi, Krishna Dev; Conroy, Czech; Witcombe, John R.. Washington, D.C. 2012
Joshi, Krishna Dev; Conroy, Czech; Witcombe, John R.. Washington, D.C. 2012
Review of Gender and green governance: The Political economy of women's presence within and beyond community forestry by Bina Agarwal. New York: Oxford University Press
Meinzen-Dick, Ruth Suseela; Jain, Devaki; Di Tommaso, Maria Laura. 2012
Meinzen-Dick, Ruth Suseela; Jain, Devaki; Di Tommaso, Maria Laura. 2012
DOI : 10.1080/13545701.2012.717177
Choosing the 'right' tools to assess the economic costs and benefits of growing landraces: an illustrative example from Bara District, Central Teria, Nepal
Gauchan, Devendra; Smale, Melinda. 2003
Gauchan, Devendra; Smale, Melinda. 2003
Does cash crop adoption detract from childcare provision? evidence from rural Nepal
Paolisso, Michael J.; Hallman, Kelly; Haddad, Lawrence James; Regmi, Shibesh. 2002
Paolisso, Michael J.; Hallman, Kelly; Haddad, Lawrence James; Regmi, Shibesh. 2002
DOI : 10.1086/322881
Water allocation and use in the Dong Nai River Basin in the context of strengthening water institutions
Ringler, Claudia; Chi Cong, Nguyen; Vu Huy, Nguyen. 2002
Ringler, Claudia; Chi Cong, Nguyen; Vu Huy, Nguyen. 2002
Managing rice biodiversity on farms: the choices of farmers and breeders in Nepal
Gauchan, Devendra; Smale, Melinda; Maxted, Nigel; Cole, Matthew. Oxon, UK; Cambridge, MA 2006
Gauchan, Devendra; Smale, Melinda; Maxted, Nigel; Cole, Matthew. Oxon, UK; Cambridge, MA 2006
Community-driven development and scaling-up of microfinance services: case studies from Nepal and India
Sharma, Manohar. Hyderabad, India 2006
Sharma, Manohar. Hyderabad, India 2006
Market-based incentives for conserving diversity on farms
Gauchan, Devendra; Smale, Melinda; Chaudhary, P.. 2005
Gauchan, Devendra; Smale, Melinda; Chaudhary, P.. 2005
DOI : 10.1007/s10722-003-1386-3
On-farm conservation of rice biodiversity in Nepal: A simultaneous estimation approach
Van Dusen, M. Eric; Gauchan, Devendra; Smale, Melinda. 2007
Van Dusen, M. Eric; Gauchan, Devendra; Smale, Melinda. 2007
DOI : 10.1111/j.1477-9552.2007.00113.x
Overview
Joshi, Pramod Kumar; Gulati, Ashok; Cummings, Jr., Ralph. New Delhi, India 2007
Joshi, Pramod Kumar; Gulati, Ashok; Cummings, Jr., Ralph. New Delhi, India 2007
Agricultural diversification in South Asia
Joshi, Pramod Kumar; Gulati, Ashok; Cummings, Jr., Ralph. New Delhi, India 2007
Joshi, Pramod Kumar; Gulati, Ashok; Cummings, Jr., Ralph. New Delhi, India 2007
Introduction [In Agricultural diversification and smallholders in South Asia]
Joshi, Pramod Kumar; Gulati, Ashok; Cummings, Jr., Ralph. New Delhi, India 2007
Joshi, Pramod Kumar; Gulati, Ashok; Cummings, Jr., Ralph. New Delhi, India 2007
Agricultural diversification in India
Joshi, Pramod Kumar; Gulati, Ashok; Birthal Pratap Singh. New Delhi, India 2007
Joshi, Pramod Kumar; Gulati, Ashok; Birthal Pratap Singh. New Delhi, India 2007
Performance of agro-industry in India
Chadha, G.K.; Gulati, Ashok. New Delhi, India 2007
Chadha, G.K.; Gulati, Ashok. New Delhi, India 2007
Vertical coordination in high-value food commodities
Birthal Pratap Singh; Joshi, Pramod Kumar; Gulati, Ashok. New Delhi, India 2007
Birthal Pratap Singh; Joshi, Pramod Kumar; Gulati, Ashok. New Delhi, India 2007
The way forward
Gulati, Ashok; Joshi, Pramod Kumar; Cummings, Jr., Ralph. New Delhi, India 2007
Gulati, Ashok; Joshi, Pramod Kumar; Cummings, Jr., Ralph. New Delhi, India 2007
Agricultural diversification and smallholders in South Asia
Joshi, Pramod Kumar, ed.; Gulati, Ashok, ed.; Cummings, Jr., Ralph, ed.. New Delhi, India 2007
Joshi, Pramod Kumar, ed.; Gulati, Ashok, ed.; Cummings, Jr., Ralph, ed.. New Delhi, India 2007
Abstract | View
Pro-poor opportunities are rapidly unfolding in South Asia, spurred by new lifestyles and tastes, stimulated by increasing incomes, spreading urbanisation, and expanding globalisation. Dietary patterns are changing of both the poor and the rich, as well as rural and urban consumers, from staple foodgrains to high-value-commodities such as fruits, vegetables, milk, meat, eggs, and fish. The real challenge is how to grab these opportunities to alleviate poverty and improve quality of life, particularly for smallholders. This book, Comprising contributions by experts from various countries, the book provides a range of information, analysis, and the beginnings of pathways to accelerate agricultural diversification and facilitate inclusiveness of small holders through correcting incentives, evolving institutions, and developing infrastructure." -- Back cover
Trade liberalization and food security in Nepal
Roy, Devesh; Pyakuryal, B.; Thapa, Y. B.. New York, NY 2010
Roy, Devesh; Pyakuryal, B.; Thapa, Y. B.. New York, NY 2010
Trade liberalization and food security in Nepal
Pyakuryal, Bishwambher; Roy, Devesh; Thapa, Y. B.. 2010
Pyakuryal, Bishwambher; Roy, Devesh; Thapa, Y. B.. 2010
DOI : 10.1016/j.foodpol.2009.09.001
Liberalization and food security in Nepal
Pyakuryal, Bishwambher; Thapa, Y.B.; Roy, Devesh. New Delhi, India 2010
Pyakuryal, Bishwambher; Thapa, Y.B.; Roy, Devesh. New Delhi, India 2010
Ensuring food and nutritional security report
Gulati, Ashok; Ganesh-Kumar, Anand; Shreedhar, Ganga; Pullabhotla, Hemant; Zhang, Xiaobo; Sainju, Mohan Man; Pant, Bishnu Dev; Sah, Ram P.. New Delhi, India 2010
Gulati, Ashok; Ganesh-Kumar, Anand; Shreedhar, Ganga; Pullabhotla, Hemant; Zhang, Xiaobo; Sainju, Mohan Man; Pant, Bishnu Dev; Sah, Ram P.. New Delhi, India 2010
1 to 20 of 240