Forest, agriculture, and migration: contemplating the future of forestry and agriculture in the middle-hills of Nepal

Chhetri, Ram B.; Yokying, Phanwin; Smith, Alexander C.; Hoek, Jamon Van Den; Hurni, Kaspar; Saksena, Sumeet; Fox, Jefferson

doi:10.1080/03066150.2021.1978983

Cited by 20 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…The pandemic has thus had limited effect on the overall agricultural strategy and livestock husbandry; however, we find evidence of increased interest in agricultural production among some farmers. Together, these findings underscore the continue importance of subsistence food production to secure livelihood among rural households (Rigg, 2020;Chhetri et al, 2021;Sugden et al, 2021) as well as the potential for further growth in semi-commercial farming (also see Bista et al, 2022).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…At the same time, outmigration has provided new opportunities for cash income that was not available in the past. However, despite the overall decline in agricultural dependence in rural areas (Ojha et al, 2017), reports suggest that rural people continue engaging in farming (subsistence or semi-commercial) to support their livelihoods (Chhetri et al, 2021;Sugden et al, 2021). A growing body of research suggests that off-farm employment, particularly labor migration, involves high levels of uncertainties with unstable incomes and precarious work conditions and therefore entails a need to maintain farming in parallel (Rigg et al, 2016;Sunam, 2020;Sugden et al, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the off-farm employment options are also not providing reliable income to sustain household livelihoods. Consequently, rural households continue to use farming as an important source to mitigate the risks of such uncertainties and combine farming with off-farm employments such as labor migration (Rigg et al, 2016;Chhetri et al, 2021). Such situation, when households need to engage in both agriculture and labor markets, has been described as a scenario of progression in sideways (McCarthy, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Why is farming important for rural livelihood security in the global south? COVID-19 and changing rural livelihoods in Nepal's mid-hills

Khatri

Marquardt²,

Fischer³

et al. 2023

Front. Hum. Dyn.

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Over the last three decades, Nepal has experienced a rapid transition in rural livelihoods, from largely subsistence farming to more diversified off-farm employment and remittances. Despite this, subsistence farming continues to be a central part of rural production. Why does farming persist in the face of other, more remunerative, off-farm employment options? In this article we argue that subsistence food production continues to be important for rural livelihood security by providing food needs from farming, thus helping households to cope with uncertainties in off-farm employment and international labor migration. Taking the COVID-19 pandemic as an example of a high level of livelihood stress, the paper provides insights and further explanations on the logic of maintaining subsistence food production as part of rural households' livelihood security. Drawing on in-depth qualitative study, complemented with a quantitative survey from eight villages in rural Nepal, we examine the impact of the pandemic on farming and off-farm activities and explore the reasons behind peoples' choice of livelihood strategies and how these vary between different social groups. We show that there was only limited impact of the dramatic disruptions caused by the global pandemic on subsistence farming, however it brought substantial challenges for emerging semi-commercial farming and off-farm incomes, including both local and migratory wage labor. During the pandemic, people increased their reliance on locally produced food, and subsistence farming served as a critical safety net. Our analysis underscores the continued importance of subsistence production amidst contemporary shifts toward off-farm employment among rural households. We also find a growing interest in semi-commercial farming among farmers with better access to land who seek state support to develop such production. This suggests that it is important for agricultural development policy to recognize and support subsistence farming alongside emerging commercial agriculture production as an integral foundation of future farming and rural livelihood security.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Why is farming important for rural livelihood security in the global south? COVID-19 and changing rural livelihoods in Nepal's mid-hills

Khatri

Marquardt²,

Fischer³

et al. 2023

Front. Hum. Dyn.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Simultaneously, migration has opened up new avenues for earning cash, previously unavailable (Ojha et al, 2017). Nonetheless, despite a general decrease in reliance on agriculture in rural regions evidences suggests that farming, either for sustenance or limited commercial purposes, remains a vital of rural livelihoods (Chhetri et al, 2021;Sudgen et al, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Persistent and implications of Changing Livelihood in Hill Setting of Nepal: A Qualitative Inquiry of Vyas-10 of Tanahun

Sigdel,

Rijal

2024

Baneshwor Campus J. Acad.

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Nepal has witnessed rapid change in political and socioeconomic dimensions in the last three decades. Migration and remittance are key factors for the changing livelihoods and it implies various forms of Hill settings in Nepal. The aim of the study is to identify the persistence and implications of livelihood changes in the Hill setting of Nepal from the emic perspective. As per the requirement of the study, 30 in-depth interviews were conducted Dumsi village of Vyas-10 of Tanahun district. The study identified that remittance is the key driver of the livelihood change in the Hill setting. The changing livelihood of the village people also changes the gender roles, the age structure of the working age population, change in the caste-based occupation and structural change of the caste-based system and the diversification of the income sources. Agriculture was seen as the main occupation three decades ago, it is a secondary source of livelihood in the villages due to migration and remittances.

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“…Rejeki et al, (2021) further demonstrated that there had been socio-economic disintegration due to unsustainable use of mangroves. Thus, Chhetri et al, (2021) and (Olofsson, 2019) recommended that farmers should not remain dependent on forests and create a range of agricultural activities and nonagricultural jobs on their own. Several studies on mangrove wood addressed it in terms of the socioeconomic aspect, local wisdom, and indigenous peoples.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Actor’s Social Actions and Their Dynamics in The Social System: A Case Study of Traditional Charcoal-Making Business in The Livelihood of The Akit Community

et al. 2022

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The Akit community generally uses mangrove wood as raw material for charcoal. The purpose of this study was to analyze (a) the development of the charcoal-making business, (b) the type of social action in the Akit community's charcoal-making business, and (c) the dynamics of the charcoal-making business. This research was conducted using an ethnographic approach. The results: from the 1980s to 1994, production was initially regulated solely to meet local needs. In the era of 1995 to 2005, it experienced a high market demand for mangrove charcoal along with a flourishing business network with Malaysian toke. After 2005 the charcoal business dimmed again due to government regulations. The actors involved in the charcoal business are workers, owners of very small panglongs, and owners of small panglongs (tokes). The social action run the panglong business as an effort to meet their family needs, and thus they worked based on instrumental rationality. These charcoal-making entrepreneurs operated their businesses based on instrumental and traditional actions. The social action of the toke actor is instrumental rationality and value-oriented rationality. The dynamics of the charcoal business in the Akit community have experienced ups and downs.

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Forest, agriculture, and migration: contemplating the future of forestry and agriculture in the middle-hills of Nepal

Cited by 20 publications

References 42 publications

Why is farming important for rural livelihood security in the global south? COVID-19 and changing rural livelihoods in Nepal's mid-hills

Why is farming important for rural livelihood security in the global south? COVID-19 and changing rural livelihoods in Nepal's mid-hills

Persistent and implications of Changing Livelihood in Hill Setting of Nepal: A Qualitative Inquiry of Vyas-10 of Tanahun

Actor’s Social Actions and Their Dynamics in The Social System: A Case Study of Traditional Charcoal-Making Business in The Livelihood of The Akit Community

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