Extension policies and reforms in Nepal: an analysis of challenges, constraints, and policy options

Uprety, Rajendra; Shivakoti, Sabnam

doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-818752-4.00004-7

Cited by 7 publications

(8 citation statements)

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“…Nepal's experiences in the implementation of multiple policies related to agricultural reform suggest that patience and perseverance with uninterrupted commitment over a long period are essential (Uprety and Shivakoti, 2019;Khanal et al, 2020). Agriculture Perspective Plan (APP), Agriculture Development Strategy (ADS), and National Agriculture Policy 2061 (NAP, 2004) remain the main policy documents to date (Upreti and Shivakoti, 2021).…”

Section: National and Provincial Policy Framework For Agriculture Dev...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Government Framework for Agriculture Service Delivery at the Local Level in Nepal

Jaishi¹,

Sharma²,

Nepali

et al. 2023

Nep. Pub. Pol. Rev.

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This paper examines the policy, institutional and legal aspects of agriculture service delivery (ASD) of local government in federal Nepal. The aim of this study is to recommend an appropriate framework for improving ASD unit efficiency in delivering agricultural services to citizens. The paper seeks to answer the question of whether the ASD unit of municipalities facilitates a local government framework while discharging their agriculture services to the citizens. To achieve this, both primary and secondary data were used. Primary data were collected through structured interviews of agriculture service takers using stratified random sampling and were accompanied by participant observations, FGDs and KIIs. Secondary data were obtained from government documents. A convergent parallel mix method research design was adopted, which implied abductive reasoning with pragmatist research philosophy. The study found that despite poor facilities and structures at the local level, the client experienced extended agricultural service delivery. Local governments are undergoing a transition in harmonizing institutional and legal policies, as evidenced by the differences in service delivery and expertise. The study identified three areas of demand from people with local authorities viz; infrastructure for basic services, quality extension from professional experts, and prioritization of the agriculture sector. Based on the findings, an enhanced ASD framework at the local level is recommended to meet the quality service needs of diversified clients. In this regard, enhanced municipal capacity is crucial.

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Section: National and Provincial Policy Framework For Agriculture Dev...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Government Framework for Agriculture Service Delivery at the Local Level in Nepal

Jaishi¹,

Sharma²,

Nepali

et al. 2023

Nep. Pub. Pol. Rev.

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“…Due to the lack of channels in place for regular communication and interaction, there are often delays in extension outputs (Suvedi & McNamara, 2012). The ratio of extension worker to farmer is quite low due to the large area required to cover with one agriculture service centre (ASC) covering about 8000 farm households while one extension worker manages 1200 farm household (Uprety & Shivakoti, 2019). Gc and Hall (2020) highlight that lack of technical expertise in remote areas forces farmers to rely on potentially unscrupulous input providers to purchase seed varieties and inputs, adding further importance on ensuring the presence and guidance of extension workers.…”

Section: Contextualising Agricultural Mechanisation Progress In Nepalmentioning

confidence: 99%

Farm mechanisation in Nepal's Terai Region: Policy context, drivers and options

Karki¹,

Sharma²,

Brown³

2021

J of Intl Development

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Nepal Terai has historically had higher rates of mechanisation compared to the rest of the country and has the potential to expand and intensify its constrained agricultural productivity through agricultural mechanisation for smallholder farmers. This review provides a timely reflection on the pathways in which mechanisation has occurred in India and Bangladesh to inform the development of future mechanisation pathways and policies for Nepal Terai. Findings highlight the need to prioritise agricultural research, improve credit access, invest in human resources, incentivise local manufacturing and reassess extension services to address the needs of the farmers in Nepal Terai.

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“…Most of the local stakeholders in Nepal and the current literature, which often influences the training of agricultural stakeholders, such as extension workers, have a generally positive attitude towards advanced ICTs, such as smartphones, compared to traditional means of communication, such as printed picture lessons [10,19,21,22,55]. Contradictory to their view, here the findings from the farmers that participated in this study showed a positive attitude towards printed pictures as extension materials even though such methods tend to represent an older era of ICTs (Figure 7).…”

Section: Choice Of Women Farmers: Modern Icts or Printed Picture Lessmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition to the above factors, Stefano et al [19], in their study in Africa, revealed that smallholder farmers found agricultural programs broadcast on TV and radio as irrelevant in terms of content as they were mainly targeted to large-scale commercial farmers. Even though radio and television are somewhat common in Nepal, information related to smallholder tools and practices are poorly disseminated through these means [10,61]. Lessons can be learned, however, from the TV series Shamba Shape Up, which has been effective and relevant example of providing extension services to smallholders in East Africa [62].…”

Section: Choice Of Women Farmers: Modern Icts or Printed Picture Lessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Picture-Based Agricultural Extension Lessons Developed Using Participatory Testing and Editing with Smallholder Women Farmers in Nepal

et al. 2020

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Printed pictures are traditional forms of agricultural extension for smallholder farmers. They receive historical academic criticism but remain inexpensive, do not require technical skills (unlike smartphones), and bypass language/literacy barriers. Here, a comprehensive participatory pipeline is described that included 56 Nepalese women farmer editors to develop 100 picture-based lessons. Thereafter, the Theory of Planned Behavior is used as a framework to evaluate 20 diverse lessons using quantitative and qualitative data (Nvivo-11) collected from four groups, focusing on low-literacy women: the women farmer editors (n = 56); smallholder field testers who had prior exposure to extension agents and the actual innovations (control group, n = 120), and those who did not (test group, n = 60); expert stakeholders (extension agents/scientists, n = 25). The expected comprehension difference between farmer groups was non-substantive, suggesting that the participatory editing/testing approaches were effective. There were surprising findings compared to the academic literature: smallholders comprehended the pictures without the help of extension agents, perhaps because of the participatory approaches used; children assisted their mothers to understand caption-based lessons; the farmers preferred printed pictures compared to advanced information and communication technologies (ICTs); and the resource-poor farmers were willing to pay for the printed materials, sufficient to make them cost-neutral/scalable. These findings have implications for smallholder farmers beyond Nepal.

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Extension policies and reforms in Nepal: an analysis of challenges, constraints, and policy options

Cited by 7 publications

References 1 publication

Government Framework for Agriculture Service Delivery at the Local Level in Nepal

Government Framework for Agriculture Service Delivery at the Local Level in Nepal

Farm mechanisation in Nepal's Terai Region: Policy context, drivers and options

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Picture-Based Agricultural Extension Lessons Developed Using Participatory Testing and Editing with Smallholder Women Farmers in Nepal

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