Assessing links between crop diversity and food self-sufficiency in three agroecological regions of Nepal

Abstract

Increasing on-farm crop diversity is one agroecological approach to enhancing food self-sufficiency that helps small-scale farmers keep their food systems stable by reducing risks associated with stressors, such as a pest outbreaks or droughts. But understanding how crop diversity and food self-sufficiency are related is unknown. To explore this complex relation, this study presents household data (n = 1664) from Nepal to test the hypothesis that families with high crop diversity enjoy greater household food self-sufficiency. Data are presented for three districts that are representative of three distinct agroecological regions of the country: (1) Sarlahi, which is affluent, market-oriented, and on the plains; (2) Makwanpur District in the hills, which has well-developed integrated farm production; and (3) the mountainous District of Humla, which has the poorest quality environment and is the most remote. Results show that in the Humla District, families with greater crop diversity were more self-sufficient. In contrast, farmers in Makwanpur, who have already established a high degree of crop diversity based on vegetable production, do not benefit from additional crop diversity in terms of their ability to provide for themselves. Finally, data from Sarlahi show that families' food selfsufficiency benefits from crop diversification. We conclude that boosting crop diversity is a viable strategy for maintaining stability in food systems, but this varies depending on the accessibility of a farm and, in particular, access to markets.

Should I stay or should I go? Fishers’ ability and willingness to adapt to environmental change in Cambodia's Tonle Sap Lake

“…The Probit regression results illustrated how a range of explanatory variables might affect the likelihood that a fisher will continue to fish or shift/diversify their livelihoods. The overall regression model explained the outcome of a household deciding to continue to fish or not under the future scenarios reasonably well (R 2 = 0.17), which is acceptable for cross-sectional data (KC, Ifte, Legwegoh & Fraser, 2016;KC, Pant, et al, 2016;Pant et al, 2014). The Chi-square value for how well the test fit for the overall model was significant (p < 0.01).…”

Implications of Smallholder Farm Production Diversity for Household Food Consumption Diversity: Insights from Diverse Agro-Ecological and Market Access Contexts in Rural Tanzania

“…However, the debate on the role of smallholder farm production diversity on household food consumption diversity is far from conclusive. While some recent studies find a positive influence in this relationship [3,8,14], others have had mixed results [9,11]. Essentially, besides smallholder farm production diversity, household food consumption diversity may be influenced by market access and opportunities for off-farm income, among other factors [3,9].…”

“…Despite recent significant strides in agricultural production, challenges such as food insecurity, under-nutrition and volatile food prices have persistently affected most smallholders [4][5][6]. In the wake of these challenges, there has been increased support for diversification of smallholder production as a strategy to enhance rural households' food security through increased food sufficiency and diversity [3,[7][8][9][10][11].…”

“…Essentially, besides smallholder farm production diversity, household food consumption diversity may be influenced by market access and opportunities for off-farm income, among other factors [3,9]. Moreover, the implications of farm production diversity on food consumption of rural households may vary depending on, among other factors, agro-ecological characteristics which determine cropping systems pursued by smallholders [11,15].…”

When is a fisher (not) a fisher? Factors that influence the decision to report fishing as an occupation in rural Cambodia

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