Nitrogen balances for households in the mid-hills of Nepal

Pilbeam, C. J.; Tripathi, B. P.; Sherchan, D. P.; Gregory, P. J.; Gaunt, J. L.

doi:10.1016/s0167-8809(99)00143-7

Cited by 43 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Forests contribute more than 50% of the total fodder supply (Kadaria, 1994). The litter used as bedding material for livestock, along with fodder fed to livestock, is a major pathway for the nutrient flow from forest to agricultural land (Pilbeam et al, 2000;Aase et al, 2009Aase et al, , 2013. Rural farmers collect these materials from nearby forests to prepare the farmyard manure, which is the only source of soil organic carbon (SOC) and nutrient replenishment for sustainable farm productivity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Farmers dependency on forests for nutrients transfer to farmlands in mid-hills and high mountain regions in Nepal (case studies in Hemja, Kaski, Lete and Kunjo, Mustang district)

Balla¹,

Tiwari²,

Kafle³

et al. 2014

Int. J. Biodivers. Conserv.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Farmers dependency on forests for nutrients transfer to farmlands in mid-hills and high mountain regions in Nepal (case studies in Hemja, Kaski, Lete and Kunjo, Mustang district)

Balla¹,

Tiwari²,

Kafle³

et al. 2014

Int. J. Biodivers. Conserv.

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“…In addition to providing food directly in the form of milk and meat, livestock also provide important services such as power for ploughing and food transportation (Mahat et al, 1987). Farm manures are often the sole means of soil fertilization in areas that are remote from roads, and where farmers are unable to afford fertilizer (Pilbeam et al, 2000;Paudel, 1992;NPC, 2003). Livestock are often the main source of income to purchase market goods including food, and they provide a means of farming business diversification and a hedge against risk (Fafchamps and Shilpi, 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies have also shown that less intensive livestock grazing has little effect on soil erosion in the mountains (Gilmour et al, 1986). An additional benefit of the agroforestry system is that farmers can use the egesta of livestock mixed with soil to increase soil fertility instead of using chemical fertilizers (Pilbeam et al, 2000). Before applying dung to the soil, some households also use it to produce bio-gas for household energy purposes (Hjortso et al, 2006).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Forests for Food Security and Livelihood Sustainability: Policy Problems and Opportunities for Small Farmers in Nepal

Dhakal

Bigsby

Cullen

2010

Journal of Sustainable Agriculture

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In Nepal, many rural households need access to public forest resources to complement private resources for food and livestock production. However, current forest policies are largely directed at Environmental protection. The first part of this study identified the effect of current forest policy on livestock production using survey data from 259 households in three Nepal hill districts. The second part used a forestry-agriculture integrated model to examine alternative land use policies that could increase household livestock holdings and income while maintaining the environmental services of the community forest. The results show that current forest policies contributed to reductions in potential household livestock holdings by 34% for goats, 30% for cattle and 27% for buffalo. This exacerbated problems of farm fertility and food shortages in vulnerable and poor households. Modeling of alternative policy scenarios indicates that livestock holdings and income could both be increased for most households in communities practicing agroforestry while still maintaining environmental protection. The increase could be highest for the poorest households. Finally, the article discusses potential implications of new environmental policies on local food security and sustainability in the country.

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“…Quantitative studies on the impact of livestock on the use of natural resources in Asia are scarce (Pilbeam et al 2000;Thorne and Tannner 2002). This is also evident in Bhutan, with no proper documentation of such studies.…”

Section: Problem Statementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Quantitative studies on the impact of livestock on the use of natural resources in Asia are scarce (Pilbeam et al 2000;Thorne and Tannner 2002). This paper aims to assess the impact of livestock intensification on the use of CPR, and the cattle feed balance and the Nitrogen (N) and Phosphorus (P) flows at the farm level in four geographical areas differing in agro-ecological conditions, infrastructure, market access and consequently crossbreeding implementation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Crossbreeding and gross national happiness of Bhutanese farmers

Samdup¹

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Bhutan has embarked on the gross national happiness (GNH) development concept. However, its operationalisation needs more focus on the issues of the smallholder farmers which comprise about two-thirds of the population. A practical implementation of GNH for rural areas is cattle crossbreeding for dairying, aiming not only to improve livelihoods of farming households and to meet the increasing demands of livestock products, but also to sustainably use natural resources. This thesis evaluates whether crossbreeding has benefited farmers from a GNH perspective across time and space. The study areas are described as extensive, semi-intensive, intensive and intensive peri-urban. In 2000, in each area participatory field workshops with farmers (n=120) and other stakeholders (n=28) were organised to select issues at farm level. Data on households, cropping, livestock and off-farm activities were collected by trained enumerators through interviewing 183 households in 2000 and 2004. In 2015 only 123 of the same households could be revisited; the other households had migrated to other areas or had given up farming, as rearing of livestock was no longer permitted in the intensive peri-urban area. In 2002, a national workshop with 20 experts was organised to select issues and their indicators for developing an integral approach to communicate progress in GNH development in the four areas. Selected indicators were standardised by establishing a performance value range for five performance categories of each indicator. The standardised indicator values were aggregated to an economic, societal and environmental index. The adoption of crossbreeding varied strongly between areas with high percentages of crossbred cattle in intensive areas and low percentages in the extensive area. Favourable conditions for adoption of crossbreeding were support by projects, functioning farmers' groups, access to urban markets and access to artificial insemination and extension services. Farmers in the intensive areas find livestock intensification through crossbreeding attractive as a source of regular and reliable income. Crossbreeding has not yet been able to reduce the gap between supply and demand of dairy products in Bhutan, but it reduces grazing pressure on common property resources. The integral assessment shows that challenges in the implementation of the GNH concept in rural areas are the increases in rural-urban migration and farm labour shortages, and the need for more equitable socio-economic development.

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Nitrogen balances for households in the mid-hills of Nepal

Cited by 43 publications

References 13 publications

Farmers dependency on forests for nutrients transfer to farmlands in mid-hills and high mountain regions in Nepal (case studies in Hemja, Kaski, Lete and Kunjo, Mustang district)

Farmers dependency on forests for nutrients transfer to farmlands in mid-hills and high mountain regions in Nepal (case studies in Hemja, Kaski, Lete and Kunjo, Mustang district)

Forests for Food Security and Livelihood Sustainability: Policy Problems and Opportunities for Small Farmers in Nepal

Crossbreeding and gross national happiness of Bhutanese farmers

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