Coping Strategies of Smallholder Farming Communities after the 2015 Nepal Earthquake: Insights into Post-Disaster Resilience and Social–Ecological Change

Epstein, Kathleen; DiCarlo, Jessica; Marsh, Robin; Ray, Isha; Måren, Inger Elisabeth

doi:10.1525/cse.2017.000612

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…However, Nepal's farming systems also have some resilience that helps to cope with and adapt to the crisis. For example, diversification of crops and income generating activities within the farming system in the hills and mountains was considered as adaptation to face the crisis brought by severe earthquake in 2015 ( Epstein et al, 2017 ). Government and other actors in Nepal have also implemented new ways to deal with the disruption caused by COVID-19 in food production and food security, and some of them have helped farmers and the broader population.…”

Section: Introduction and Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, it is seen that community seed banks maintained by such communities played an important role in this pandemic as these ensured local seeds, conserved biodiversity, and contributed to a diversified food system ( De Falcis, 2020 ). The resiliency of such farms (measured by robustness and recovery of system productivity) was also observed during the Great Earthquake of 2015 when Nepal was hit by 7-rector scale earthquake causing over 9000 deaths and widespread damage of infrastructures ( Epstein et al, 2017 ). Resilience can also play a major role in the survival and expansion of many agricultural systems and great empires and strengthen the resilience of nations against future pandemics and other shocks ( Haldon et al, 2020 ).…”

Section: Farming Systems Resilience and Impacts On Farmingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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COVID-19 impacts on agriculture and food systems in Nepal: Implications for SDGs

Adhikari

Timsina²,

Khadka

et al. 2021

Agricultural Systems

121

111

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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.

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Section: Introduction and Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Farming Systems Resilience and Impacts On Farmingmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 impacts on agriculture and food systems in Nepal: Implications for SDGs

Adhikari

Timsina²,

Khadka

et al. 2021

Agricultural Systems

121

111

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Paudel et al., 2014: 11), many households make strategic use of different elements of complex agricultural landscapes. Recent studies suggest that such strategies tend to prioritize labour investments in the most productive land, while repurposing marginal, often upland, fields for less intensive uses, including grass for grazing, fodder and fuel trees, as well as for perennial crops, such as cardamom or nut and fruit trees (Barrueto et al., 2018; Epstein et al., 2017; Paudel et al., 2014). It is in this broader context of agrarian change that the rapid expansion of apple cultivation in Jumla District is situated.…”

Section: Agrarian Change In the Himalayasmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Plant, Sleep, Pick’: Ambivalent Smallholder Market Engagement and Inclusive Value Chains in Northwest Nepal

Lewison¹

2022

Development and Change

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Inclusive value chain frameworks have been widely adopted by states and international development agencies as a strategy for addressing rural poverty. The approach aims to improve smallholder farmers' linkages to agricultural markets and to increase the value of their products within these markets. Inclusive value chain initiatives targeting apple producers in northwestern Nepal are illustrative of this development approach. This article examines apple production in Jumla District, which has expanded rapidly over the last two decades, and shows how value chain development interventions have sought to accelerate a shift towards commercial agriculture by linking producers to agribusiness partners and upgrading production. A central assumption of these interventions is that farmers will aim to maximize profits through entrepreneurial strategies within targeted value chains. However, as this article demonstrates, a closer investigation of the political ecology of apple production in the region calls this assumption into question. The article argues that the popularity of apples in Jumla District must be situated within processes of agrarian change and livelihood diversification that have informed labour-saving, risk-averse approaches to apple market participation. The findings lend support to calls for strategies that prioritize autonomy and long-term risk mitigation over competitive market integration.The author thanks the farmers, businesspersons and NGO and government officers in Nepal who participated in this research for their knowledge, time and generosity. She is grateful to Chaturbhuj Malla and Sushmita Poudel who provided invaluable support and critical reflection throughout the research process. Many thanks also to Travis Bost, Nicole Van Lier, Laura Vaz-Jones, Sara Shneiderman and the anonymous reviewers for their constructive criticism and feedback on earlier drafts.

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“…Our work builds on previous examinations of small-scale farming, disasters and agricultural change (Holt-Giménez, 2002;Shivakumar et al, 2005;Lin, 2011;Steffen et al, 2011;Epstein et al, 2017Epstein et al, , 2018DiCarlo et al, 2018) by examining how disasters or crises converge with ongoing agricultural transitions and may act as a catalyst for change. Using a qualitative and case-based approach, we examine the health pandemic in three globally important socio-political and food system contexts; the United States, Europe and China, to shed light on the impacts and adaptive responses of small-scale farmers in these distinct contexts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diversified Farming Systems: Impacts and Adaptive Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States, Norway and China

Måren

Aslesen

McNeal

et al. 2022

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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The COVID-19 pandemic fully exposed the vulnerability of the global agri-food system to shocks and stresses, highlighting the need for transformation and action to make it more resilient and inclusive. This paper offers a unique insight into the global nature of the COVID-19 pandemic by examining impacts and responses in the agri-food sector within three very distinct contexts, namely the United States, Norway, and China. Focusing on small, diversified farms, the study builds on prior research with the same farmers and support organizations from an on-going collaboration. Firstly, we conducted a short review of policy adaptations to understand how governments, the private sector, non-profit organizations, and communities “stepped up” to provide emergency relief, specialized training, and recovery support for farmers, support that was instrumental in preventing more devastating impacts in all three countries. Secondly, drawing from in-depth interviews with farmers (23) and government and non-governmental support organizations (19), we mapped the vulnerability and resiliency of selected farmers to shocks that severely disrupted traditional supply chains during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected on both the negative and positive impacts of the pandemic to farmer inputs, including labor, operations, and markets, how these changed from the initial lockdowns in early 2020 and through 2021, and on farmer adaptive responses to these impacts. In some contexts, innovation and adaptive responses counteracted negative impacts. We saw diversifying markets, catering to consumer safety concerns, switching to direct and e-markets, hiring in more labor or relying on family labor, and switching to high demand crops and products as the most prominent adaptive responses. Farmers who lacked access to information and government programs, in large part because of language, technology and institutional barriers, missed out on pandemic related opportunities and suffered the most. As we enter the post-pandemic new normal it is important to take stock of lessons learned, and to continue to support those initiatives and innovations that were pivotal not only for weathering the storm, but for building a more inclusive and resilient agri-food system in the long-run.

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Coping Strategies of Smallholder Farming Communities after the 2015 Nepal Earthquake: Insights into Post-Disaster Resilience and Social–Ecological Change

Cited by 6 publications

References 19 publications

COVID-19 impacts on agriculture and food systems in Nepal: Implications for SDGs

COVID-19 impacts on agriculture and food systems in Nepal: Implications for SDGs

‘Plant, Sleep, Pick’: Ambivalent Smallholder Market Engagement and Inclusive Value Chains in Northwest Nepal

Diversified Farming Systems: Impacts and Adaptive Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States, Norway and China

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