The objective of this study was to understand the impacts of COVID-19 crisis in agriculture and food systems in Nepal and assess the effectiveness of measures to deal with this crisis. The study draws policy implications, especially for farming systems resilience and the achievement of SDGs 1 and 2. The findings are based on (i) three panel discussions over six months with policy makers and experts working at grassroots to understand and manage the crisis, (ii) key informants' interviews, and (iii) an extensive literature review. Results revealed that the lockdown and transport restrictions have had severe consequences, raising questions on the achievement of SDGs 1 and 2, especially in the already vulnerable regions dependent on food-aid. This crisis has also exposed the strengths and limitations of both subsistence and commercial farming systems in terms of resiliency, offering important lessons for policy makers. Traditional subsistence farming appears to be somewhat resilient, with a potential to contribute to key pillars of food security, especially access and stability, though with limited contributions to food availability because of low productivity. On the other hand, commercial farming - limited to the periphery of market centres, cities, and emerging towns and in the accessible areas - was more impacted due to the lack of resilient supply networks to reach even the local market. Lower resiliency of commercial farming was also evident because of its growing dependence on inputs (mainly seeds and fertilizer) on distant markets located in foreign countries. The observation of crisis over eight months unleashed by the pandemic clearly revealed that wage labourers, indigenous people, and women from marginalized groups and regions already vulnerable in food security and malnutrition suffered more due to COVID-19 as they lost both external support and the coping mechanisms. The findings have implications for policies to improve both subsistence and commercial farming systems – in particular the former by improving the productivity through quality inputs and by diversifying, promoting and protecting the indigenous food system, while the latter through sustainable intensification by building reliant supply network linking farming with markets and guarantying the supply of inputs.
There have been very few studies in the process of feminization of agriculture in Nepal. The overall purpose of this study was to analyze the changing role of women in high-value agriculture in the postconflict context of Nepal. In this study, we applied qualitative research tools: focus group discussion, key informant interview, on-site observation, and descriptive and interpretative analysis. The study found that after the peace agreement of 2006, the engagement of women in high-value agriculture such as large cardamom and ginger increased rapidly and contributed to the empowerment of women. The study reveals that rural women's engagement in "women cooperatives" provided them social, economic, and political recognition and decision-making space. However, they are facing additional challenges and risks related to marketing, crop protection, and export to international markets. Though recent policy changes are favorable to address risks and challenges, their effective implementation is yet to be fully realized. This article concludes that the changing political context in Nepal has provided space for women to engage in high-value agriculture. However, women's engagement is limited to production and primary processing, while further along the value chain, where more profits are made with less risk, women tend to acquire less benefits. The government needs special policy and regulatory provisions and institutional arrangements to address (a) the problem of international export market and (b) the problem of crop protection measures.
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