I.
ABSTRACT
Food insecurity has become one of the major problems
in Nepal though it is regarded as an agricultural country. The situation of
food insecurity has become even worse after the Gorkha Earthquake 2015 as nearly
3.5 million people considered vulnerable with immediate need of food and 1.5
million people was highly vulnerable (Post Disaster Need Assessment, 2015).
Though 65.7% of population engaged in agriculture and though agriculture shares
almost 33% of country's GDP, insecurity of food is still existed (Ministry of Agriculture
Cooperatives, 2009). In last 8 years, production of cereals has increased only
by 5 percent but consumption of requirement has increased by 20 percent (Declaration of the world
summit on food security, 2009). The increasing rate of production and
the rate of consumption are not balanced. The reason behind imbalance rate between
production and consumption might be cause of highly increasing population rate
and lack of sustainable agriculture policy. This article tries to figure out main
reasons behind food insecurity in Nepal and recommends some ideas that would be
helpful to solve this problem. The article also suggests to launch and to implement
sustainable agriculture policy to reduce food insecurity in the country.
Keywords: Food, Insecurity, Sustainable, Agriculture,
Policy, Implementation
II.
INTRODUCTION:
The cultivation of animals and plants for food and
livelihood is known as agriculture. The world food summit of 1996 defined food
security as existing "when all people of all times have access to
sufficient, safe, nutritious, food to maintain a healthy and active life".
According to the United Nations
Development Report (UNDP, 2013) multidimensional poverty in Nepal is 44% and
intensity of deprivation is 49%. Agriculture and food security is very
interrelated. When we talk about the food security we must think about
sustainable agriculture. The reasons
behind food insecurity in Nepal are rapid population growth, stagnant
agriculture production, low income, uncontrolled trade, lack of transportation
facilities and unbalanced distribution (Joshi, 2010).
In the context of Nepal, the agriculture
sector and status of food security was not well managed, it became even worse
after the 7.8 magnitude Gorkha earthquake occurred in April-May 2015 as 498,852
houses were collapsed and crop lands were also damaged. Rice and millet harvested
in November and stored inside the house as food stock were largely damaged when
houses collapsed. Several office buildings and official residences of the
District Agriculture Development Office (DADO) and District Livestock Service
Office (DLSO) are damaged (PDNA, 2015). About 3.5 million people were
considered vulnerable with immediate food needs, out of which 1.4 million
people were considered highly vulnerable requiring immediate food assistance
(PDNA, 2015). It was very painful disaster for for the country. There is huge
loss in agriculture sector and it take years to be recovered from this
disastrous situation.
In this very
disastrous situation, appropriate policy of sustainable agriculture plan is
very important to maintain the food security in Nepal. According to
international law, every human being has rights to be freed from hunger and
rights to have safe and nutritious food. Universal declaration on human rights,
Conventions on Child Rights and other international legal documents have
ensured the rights of food. Nepal does not have a comprehensive food security
policy addressing the different dimensions of food security; however, food
security and nutrition have been included in different policy document. None of
the policies on food security and nutrition have been implemented yet in an
effective way. The availability of balanced diet was not enough after the
earthquake. Practical policies are needed in the sector of agriculture to be
recovered from the damaged done by the earthquake. Food insecurity was a major
problem and it has become more vulnerable after the earthquake. The total damages
in agriculture sector are 28,366 million. 'The overall recovery and
reconstruction of the agriculture sector is estimated at NPR 15,560 million out of which NPR
3,579 million (23 percent) is required for immediate recovery in the
short-term (next 12 months) and NPR
11,981 million (76 percent) is
required for reconstruction of the sector in the medium term (over a period of
36 months)' (PDNA, p.85, 2015).
The situation of earthquake affected area is
more vulnerable. The data shows that it takes at least 3 years to recover the
damages done by the earthquake. Required amount as well as proper policy is needed
to be recovered by the damages.
Most of the
affected districts are from Hill region. The production of agriculture is
lesser in Hill regions comparing to Terai. Nepal, being an agricultural country
has not been able to sustain itself for food. Though 50% percent of exported
products are from agriculture, still we are not secure from the perspective of
food. The development of agriculture is very less because of natural
calamities, floods, landslides, cold weather, drought, earthquake, improper
policy, lack of research and negligence of stakeholders (Joshi, 2010).
According to Nepal Food Security Bulletin 2015 many
parts of the country is food insecure but most households can secure food and
non-food needs without changing livelihood strategies. It means the reason
behind food insecurity is not lack of resources. We are facing food insecurity
because we are not been able to utilize the resources we have in proper way.
III. LITERATURE REVIEW
Nepal Agriculture Research Council (NARC), Department
of Agriculture (DoA) and Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science (IAAS) are
the major stakeholders involved in agriculture development of Nepal. NARC is
mandated to conduct agriculture research, DoA is mandated to conduct extension
works and IAAS is mandated for teaching, research and extension. But not of these organizations have been
working effectively because of lacking coordination among each other (Joshi,
2010). According to Ministry of Agriculture, 35 percent of population is
experiencing food scarcity in Nepal even if 65.7% of population has engaged in
agriculture and though agriculture shares almost 33% of country's GDP. Nepal is
in 57th position in the list of famine among 88 countries (Food Security Index,
2008). Out of 14.71 million hectares of the total geographical area 4.21
million hectares is cultivable land in Nepal. Out of this, only 3.0 million
hectares have been cultivated. It's only 71% of the cultivable land. Out of the
total cultivated land 38.66% (1.16 million hectares) is irrigated and rest is
rain fed (Ministry of Agriculture Cooperatives, 2009).
There are 14 most
affected districts by the earthquake, 6 of them are in very critical condition.
Dhading, Sindhupalchock, Nuwakot, Gorkha, Dolakha and Rasuwa (Nepal Food
Security Cluster, 2015). These districts are not major cereal producers
compared to the Terai area. Terai has 22 districts which make up the bulk of
the national cereal production. However the six districts still contribute
significantly to the national maize production (9.5%) and even more for millet
(18.1%) (MoAC, 2009). The most important impact as far as rice is concerned
will be in relation to the destruction of rice seed needed for planting, which
is normally stored within the house. These six districts should be in priority
to get recovered from its critical condition. Immediate actions from the the
side of government is needed to address the problem of food scarcity and there
should be some policies for sustainable agriculture especially for these six
districts as well as other affected districts. Nepal had been facing so many
problems like rapid population growth, stagnant agriculture production, low
income, uncontrolled trades with India, brain drain and earthquake etc (Joshi,
2010). The earthquake added in the list as one of the major problems. The
population growth rate of Nepal is 2.25 percent which is very high compared to
other developing countries (MoAC, 2009). Though Nepal is known as agricultural
country, agriculture is still lacking from modernization. Our agriculture is
still dependent on weather. It is one of the major reasons behind stagnant
agriculture production. We have not done any progress in agriculture; rather it
has become more or less stagnant (Joshi, 2010). Per capita income in Nepal is
$290 (UNDP, 2013). People don't have food purchasing capacity though food is
available. There is no equal distribution of food as there is no proper
development of means of transport in mountain and hill region. There is surplus
food production in Terai as thousands of rector fertile land is there. But it
is difficult to distribute in Hill and Mountain region because of lacking
transportation facility. One of the major causes of food scarcity in Nepal is
uncontrolled trades (Joshi, 2010).
Traders find easier and profitable to sell
products in India compared to selling in hill and mountain region. 'It is
paradox that there is food scarcity in Nepal but food products are exported to India
in an uncontrolled manner' (Joshi, 2010)). Actually it shows inability of Nepal
government to control black market. Some of the citizens are exporting cereals
to neighboring country when other citizens are striving from hunger.
Nepal government has not been able to attract human
resources in agriculture. Brain drain has become trend in Nepal. These are the
major causes behind the food insecurity. Nepal government launched so many
policies for the development of agriculture sector like National Agriculture Policy, 2061 (2004), Agribusiness Promotion Policy, 2063 (2006), National Fertilizer Policy,
2058 (2002), Irrigation Policy, 2060 (2003), Commercial Agriculture Policy 2064
(2007), National Seed Policy 2056 (2000) and National Tea Policy 2057 (2000)
but non of them were effective to reduce food insecurity (Joshi, 2010).
Nepal government doesn't
lack policy to reduce food insecurity but problem has
not been solved yet. People are still starving from hunger. The data shows that
there is on expected progression in the agriculture sector though many policies
were launched with high amount of investment.
IV.
FINDINGS
Ø According
to Post Disaster Need Assessment 2015 nearly 3.5 million people considered
vulnerable with immediate need of food and 1.5 million people was highly
vulnerable during the Gorkha Earthquake 2015.
Ø Production
of cereals has increased only by 5 percent but consumption of requirement has
increased by 20 percent in Nepal. (World Food Program, 2009).
Ø The
reasons behind food insecurity in Nepal are rapid population growth, stagnant
agriculture production, low income, uncontrolled trade, lack of transportation
facilities and unbalanced distribution (Joshi, 2010).
Ø The
total damages done by the earthquake 2015 in agriculture sector are 28,366
million. 'The overall recovery and reconstruction of the agriculture sector is
estimated at NPR 15,560 million out of which NPR 3,579 million (23 percent) is
required for immediate recovery in the short-term (next 12 months) and NPR 11,981 million (76 percent) is required for reconstruction of the
sector in the medium term (over a period of 36 months)' (PDNA, p.85, 2015).
Ø 35
percent of population is experiencing food scarcity in Nepal even if 65.7% of
population has engaged in agriculture and though agriculture shares almost 33%
of country's GDP (MoAC, 2009).
Ø Out
of 14.71 million hectares of the total geographical area 4.21 million hectares
is cultivable land in Nepal. Out of this, only 3.0 million hectares have been
cultivated. It's only 71% of the cultivable land. Out of the total cultivated
land 38.66% (1.16 million hectares) is irrigated and rest is rain fed (MoAC,
2009).
Ø Agriculture Policy, 2061 (2004), Agribusiness Promotion Policy, 2063 (2006),
National Fertilizer Policy, 2058 (2002), Irrigation Policy, 2060 (2003),
Commercial Agriculture Policy 2064 (2007), National Seed Policy 2056 (2000) and
National Tea Policy 2057 (2000) but non of them were effective to reduce food
insecurity (Joshi, 2010).
V.
CONCLUSION
Being an agricultural country the growth of
agriculture has to be rapid to solve food insecurity. Although the food
security situation is not good in Nepal there are lots of opportunities to
improve it. There must be some investment policies in agriculture from the
Nepal Government for sustainable food security and nutrition. There are 4.21 million hectares cultivable
lands in Nepal, out of that only 3.0 million hectares have been cultivated.
It's only 71% of the cultivable land. Out of the total cultivated land 38.66%
(1.16 million hectares) is irrigated and rest is rain fed. Though we have
enough cultivable lands, we are not able to utilize it. We don't have proper
irrigation plan and we also don't have any proper policy for sustainable
agriculture according to nature and capacity of lands of different regions. Nepal
has different topographical zones. Different types of food can be cultivated in
different zones. For example; paddy and wheat could be best cultivable cereal for
Terai; maize and millet could be best for Hill and potatoes can be cultivated
in Mountain region. If we would not be able to utilize our source of land for
farming, the status of food insecurity will be increased day by day. Farmers
are fed up of agriculture as it's not profitable occupation. They don't get
fertilizers in time and they have to depend on rain water for irrigation
(Joshi, 2010).
Farmers should be encouraged for cash agriculture.
Agriculture has to be considered as a respected profession and agriculture
should be included as one of the course of studies in school level education as
well as in high school and college. Nepal has rich climatic variability having
sub-tropical to alpine climate due to high altitude range. Therefore, the
country is suitable to produce various food crops, pulses, oilseeds, fruits and
vegetables. The data shows that if we would be able to utilize 100% cultivated
land and make it irrigated, the rate of imported food would be decreased. Over
the past 8 years, production of cereals increased by only 5% whereas
consumption requirement increased by more than 20% in Nepal (WFP, 2009).
Agriculture should be taken as a serious occupation to balance between demand
and production. In meeting the agricultural needs of communities, interventions
should be phased and designed appropriately to support and promote resilient
livelihood recovery (Joshi, 2010). This implies to not only focus on the
effects of this earthquake but rather have a comprehensive approach to reduce
the vulnerability of households to other more frequent hazards, such as
landslides, floods, droughts, pests and diseases. Particular awareness should
be given to the needs of women farmers and elderly headed households (PDNA,
2015).
It is very important to have sustainable agriculture
policy to reduce food insecurity in the days to come. In Western countries with
an affluent society, organic farming has got increasing support from citizens
and governments during the last three decades, because of the perceived
ecological services, environmental benefits and human well-being and health (Joshi,
2007). We also need to implement the practice of organic farming in Nepal as
well. This would be the best practice in the agriculture sector from the side
of health and economy. Organic food is highly demanded in local and
international market. Farmers should be encouraged for organic food farming.
If there would be practical and theoretical course of
study about agriculture from school level's education, if the agriculture would
be taken as a respected occupation, if there would be investment policy from
the side government, if organic farming would be encouraged and would be availability
of seeds and fertilizers in correct time, our country will definitely progress
in agriculture sector and will follow the way of self dependency. Collaboration
and cooperation among Nepal government, stakeholders and farmers plays an
important role to build sustainable agriculture plan which would bring positive
changes and hope in agriculture sector. If we would be able to utilize all of
our cultivating land to harvest cereals, we wouldnt only survive but we could
also be able to export our productions. Sustainable agriculture policy is very
important to reduce food insecurity in Nepal.
References:
Food &
Agricultural Organization. (1974). Perspective
Study of Agricultural Development for Nepal. Kathmandu.
Grist, N. (2015). Nepal’s Agriculture, Climate
Change and Food Security: Country Analysis and
Programming.
UK: Overseas Development Institute (ODI).
Joshi, S. (2010), Management of Food Security in Nepal. Kathamandu.
MOAC
(Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives). (2001/2002). Statistical Information on Nepalese
Agriculture. Ministry of Agriculture, Kathmandu.
National
Planning Commission. (2015). Nepal
Earthquake 2015, Post Disaster Needs
Assessment. Government
of Nepal, Kathmandu.
Nepal Food Security Cluster. (2015). Nepal Earthquake: Agricultural
Livelihood Impact Appraisal in Six Most
Affected Districts. Government of Nepal, Kathmandu.
Security, W. S. (2009). Declarition of the world
summit on food security. Rome: World Summit
on Food Security. US.
Security,
W. S. (2015). Declarition of the world summit on food security. Rome:
World Summit
on Food Security. US.
UNDP. (2013). Nepal Human Development Report 2009: State
Transformation and Human Development.
UNDP. Kathmandu.
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