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Changing Scenario of Crop Diversification in Nepal: Delineating the Role of Trade Openness, Urbanization and Rural Infrastructure

Year 2021, Volume: 18 Issue: 4, 599 - 612, 20.12.2021
https://doi.org/10.33462/jotaf.746464

Abstract

Crop diversification in the farming sectors has been accepted to be a wise strategy for augmenting the farmers’ income level as well as for mitigating the challenges for climatic change worldwide. Considering the importance of crop diversification both from the view points of farmers and environmental aspects, this paper using the secondary data tries to find out the pattern of growth of area, production, and yield of the major crops in Nepal, and at the same time, it makes an attempt to examine the crop pattern changes in Nepal along with its determining factors including both demand and supply-side factors. The growth analysis reveals that for most of the crops the second sub-period of 1986 – 2007 was the best in terms of the growth of production as compared to the other two-subperiods (1961 – 1985 and 2008 – 2017). The crop pattern of Nepal over the years shows that though the food grain crops still dominate the crop mix of the economy, there is clear evidence of necessary intercrop substitution where the traditional food grain crops are being replaced by commercial cash crops. Tea has come up with a big way in Nepal commercial cash crop production. Also, the crop diversification indices measured by the Herfindahl index and Shannon index, show a rising trend in diversification pattern during the nineties. Urbanization, better infrastructural supports in terms of better technology, irrigation coverage has been found to provide a significant positive impact on the diversification process. However, the trade openness is not found to be beneficial for Nepal’s agricultural sector diversification process as does the policy reforms in the post-political reforms.

Supporting Institution

Symbiosis School of Economics

References

  • Acharya, S. P., & Bhatta, G. R. (2013). Impact of climate change on agricultural growth in Nepal. NRB Economic Review, 25, 1–16.
  • Bradshaw, B., Dolan, H., & Smit, B. (2004). Farm-level adaptation to climatic variability and change: crop diversification in the Canadian prairies. Climatic change, 67, 119–141.
  • Cervantes-Godoy, D., & Dewbre, J. (2010). Economic importance of agriculture for poverty reduction.
  • De, U. K. (2003), Changing Cropping System in Theory and Practice: An Economic Insight into the Agrarian West Bengal, Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics, Vol. 58, No. 1, Jan-March.
  • De, U.K. (2013), Infrastructural Growth, Farm Size and Pattern of Crop Diversification Across the Districts of West Bengal, Global Journal of Science Frontier Research Agriculture and Veterinary, Vol. 13, Issue No. 1, Version 1.0.
  • De and Chattopadhyay (2010), Crop diversification by poor peasants and role of infrastructure: Evidence from West Bengal, Journal of Development and Agricultural Economics Vol. 2(10), pp. 340-350.
  • Dorjee, K., Broca, S., & Pingali, P. (2003). Diversification in South Asian agriculture: trends and constraints. ESA Working Paper No. 03-15 . The Food and Agriculture Organization . http://www.fao.org/: http://www.fao.org/3/a-ae048t.pdf
  • Ellen, W., & Barry, S. (2005). Climate Change Adaptation in Light of Sustainable Agriculture. Journal of Sustainable Agriculture, 113-123.
  • Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2020). FAOSTAT statistical database. [Rome] :FAO
  • Fraser, E. D. (2006). Crop diversification and trade liberalization: Linking global trade and local management through a regional case study. Agriculture and Human Values, 23, 271–281.
  • Jha, B., Kumar, N., & Mohanty, B. (2009). Pattern of agricultural diversification in India. Inst. of Economic Growth, Unvi. of Delhi Enclave.
  • Joshi, P. K., Gulati, A., Birthal, P. S., & Tewari, L. (2003). Agriculture diversification in South Asia: patterns, determinants, and policy implications. International Food Policy Research Institute. May 13, 2020 tarihinde https://www.ifpri.org/publication/agriculture-diversification-south-asia
  • Joshi, P. K., Gulati, A., Birthal, P. S., & Tewari, L. (2004). Agriculture diversification in South Asia: patterns, determinants and policy implications. Economic and political weekly, 2457–2467.
  • Kishore, A., Pala, B. D., Joshia, K., & Aggarwal. (2018). Unfolding government policies towards the development of climate smart agriculture in India. Agricultural Economics Research Review, 123-137.
  • Lin, B. B. (2011). Resilience in agriculture through crop diversification: adaptive management for environmental change. BioScience, 61, 183–193.
  • Ministry of Finance , Government of Nepal. (2018). Budget Speech of Fiscal Year 2018/19 . Kathmandu: Ministry of Finance , Government of Nepal.
  • Nepal Agricultural Research Council. (1995). Country Report to the FAO International Conference on Plant Genetic Resources . Kathmandu: Nepal Agricultural Research Council.
  • Popkin, B. M. (2015). Nutrition transition and the global diabetes epidemic. Current diabetes reports, 15, 64.
  • Rapsomanikis, G. (2015). The economic lives of smallholder farmers: An analysis based on household data from nine countries. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 1–39.
  • Secretariat of the Convention on Biological. (2005). The Impact of Trade Liberalization on Agricultural Biological Diversity: Domestic support measures and their effects on agricultural biological diversity. CBD Technical Series No 16 ed. Montreal: CBD.
  • Sharma, K. C. (2020, May 03). Crop Diversification in Nepal. Food and Agricultrual Organisation: http://www.fao.org/3/x6906e/x6906e09.html
  • Shoffner, A. V., & & Tooker, J. F. (2013). The potential of genotypically diverse cultivar mixtures to moderate aphid populations in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Arthropod-Plant Interactions, 7, 33-43.
  • Thapa, G., Kumar, A., & Joshi, P. K. (2017). Agricultural diversification in Nepal: Status, determinants, and its impact on rural poverty (Cilt 1634). Intl Food Policy Res Inst.
  • The World Bank. (2020, May 02). Nepal: Irrigation and Water Resource Management. The World Bank: https://www.worldbank.org/en/results/2014/04/11/nepal-irrigation-and-water-resource-management
  • Wall, E., & Smit, B. (2005). Climate change adaptation in light of sustainable agriculture. Journal of sustainable agriculture, 27, 113–123.

Changing Scenario of Crop Diversification in Nepal: Delineating the Role of Trade Openness, Urbanization and Rural Infrastructure

Year 2021, Volume: 18 Issue: 4, 599 - 612, 20.12.2021
https://doi.org/10.33462/jotaf.746464

Abstract

Crop diversification in the farming sectors has been accepted to be a wise strategy for augmenting the farmers’ income level as well as for mitigating the challenges for climatic change worldwide. Considering the importance of crop diversification both from the view points of farmers and environmental aspects, this paper using the secondary data tries to find out the pattern of growth of area, production, and yield of the major crops in Nepal, and at the same time, it makes an attempt to examine the crop pattern changes in Nepal along with its determining factors including both demand and supply-side factors. The growth analysis reveals that for most of the crops the second sub-period of 1986 – 2007 was the best in terms of the growth of production as compared to the other two-subperiods (1961 – 1985 and 2008 – 2017). The crop pattern of Nepal over the years shows that though the food grain crops still dominate the crop mix of the economy, there is clear evidence of necessary intercrop substitution where the traditional food grain crops are being replaced by commercial cash crops. Tea has come up with a big way in Nepal commercial cash crop production. Also, the crop diversification indices measured by the Herfindahl index and Shannon index, show a rising trend in diversification pattern during the nineties. Urbanization, better infrastructural supports in terms of better technology, irrigation coverage has been found to provide a significant positive impact on the diversification process. However, the trade openness is not found to be beneficial for Nepal’s agricultural sector diversification process as does the policy reforms in the post-political reforms.

References

  • Acharya, S. P., & Bhatta, G. R. (2013). Impact of climate change on agricultural growth in Nepal. NRB Economic Review, 25, 1–16.
  • Bradshaw, B., Dolan, H., & Smit, B. (2004). Farm-level adaptation to climatic variability and change: crop diversification in the Canadian prairies. Climatic change, 67, 119–141.
  • Cervantes-Godoy, D., & Dewbre, J. (2010). Economic importance of agriculture for poverty reduction.
  • De, U. K. (2003), Changing Cropping System in Theory and Practice: An Economic Insight into the Agrarian West Bengal, Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics, Vol. 58, No. 1, Jan-March.
  • De, U.K. (2013), Infrastructural Growth, Farm Size and Pattern of Crop Diversification Across the Districts of West Bengal, Global Journal of Science Frontier Research Agriculture and Veterinary, Vol. 13, Issue No. 1, Version 1.0.
  • De and Chattopadhyay (2010), Crop diversification by poor peasants and role of infrastructure: Evidence from West Bengal, Journal of Development and Agricultural Economics Vol. 2(10), pp. 340-350.
  • Dorjee, K., Broca, S., & Pingali, P. (2003). Diversification in South Asian agriculture: trends and constraints. ESA Working Paper No. 03-15 . The Food and Agriculture Organization . http://www.fao.org/: http://www.fao.org/3/a-ae048t.pdf
  • Ellen, W., & Barry, S. (2005). Climate Change Adaptation in Light of Sustainable Agriculture. Journal of Sustainable Agriculture, 113-123.
  • Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2020). FAOSTAT statistical database. [Rome] :FAO
  • Fraser, E. D. (2006). Crop diversification and trade liberalization: Linking global trade and local management through a regional case study. Agriculture and Human Values, 23, 271–281.
  • Jha, B., Kumar, N., & Mohanty, B. (2009). Pattern of agricultural diversification in India. Inst. of Economic Growth, Unvi. of Delhi Enclave.
  • Joshi, P. K., Gulati, A., Birthal, P. S., & Tewari, L. (2003). Agriculture diversification in South Asia: patterns, determinants, and policy implications. International Food Policy Research Institute. May 13, 2020 tarihinde https://www.ifpri.org/publication/agriculture-diversification-south-asia
  • Joshi, P. K., Gulati, A., Birthal, P. S., & Tewari, L. (2004). Agriculture diversification in South Asia: patterns, determinants and policy implications. Economic and political weekly, 2457–2467.
  • Kishore, A., Pala, B. D., Joshia, K., & Aggarwal. (2018). Unfolding government policies towards the development of climate smart agriculture in India. Agricultural Economics Research Review, 123-137.
  • Lin, B. B. (2011). Resilience in agriculture through crop diversification: adaptive management for environmental change. BioScience, 61, 183–193.
  • Ministry of Finance , Government of Nepal. (2018). Budget Speech of Fiscal Year 2018/19 . Kathmandu: Ministry of Finance , Government of Nepal.
  • Nepal Agricultural Research Council. (1995). Country Report to the FAO International Conference on Plant Genetic Resources . Kathmandu: Nepal Agricultural Research Council.
  • Popkin, B. M. (2015). Nutrition transition and the global diabetes epidemic. Current diabetes reports, 15, 64.
  • Rapsomanikis, G. (2015). The economic lives of smallholder farmers: An analysis based on household data from nine countries. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 1–39.
  • Secretariat of the Convention on Biological. (2005). The Impact of Trade Liberalization on Agricultural Biological Diversity: Domestic support measures and their effects on agricultural biological diversity. CBD Technical Series No 16 ed. Montreal: CBD.
  • Sharma, K. C. (2020, May 03). Crop Diversification in Nepal. Food and Agricultrual Organisation: http://www.fao.org/3/x6906e/x6906e09.html
  • Shoffner, A. V., & & Tooker, J. F. (2013). The potential of genotypically diverse cultivar mixtures to moderate aphid populations in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Arthropod-Plant Interactions, 7, 33-43.
  • Thapa, G., Kumar, A., & Joshi, P. K. (2017). Agricultural diversification in Nepal: Status, determinants, and its impact on rural poverty (Cilt 1634). Intl Food Policy Res Inst.
  • The World Bank. (2020, May 02). Nepal: Irrigation and Water Resource Management. The World Bank: https://www.worldbank.org/en/results/2014/04/11/nepal-irrigation-and-water-resource-management
  • Wall, E., & Smit, B. (2005). Climate change adaptation in light of sustainable agriculture. Journal of sustainable agriculture, 27, 113–123.
There are 25 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Journal Section Articles
Authors

Bidyut Ghosh 0000-0002-7835-8171

Publication Date December 20, 2021
Submission Date June 1, 2020
Acceptance Date September 16, 2021
Published in Issue Year 2021 Volume: 18 Issue: 4

Cite

APA Ghosh, B. (2021). Changing Scenario of Crop Diversification in Nepal: Delineating the Role of Trade Openness, Urbanization and Rural Infrastructure. Tekirdağ Ziraat Fakültesi Dergisi, 18(4), 599-612. https://doi.org/10.33462/jotaf.746464
AMA Ghosh B. Changing Scenario of Crop Diversification in Nepal: Delineating the Role of Trade Openness, Urbanization and Rural Infrastructure. JOTAF. December 2021;18(4):599-612. doi:10.33462/jotaf.746464
Chicago Ghosh, Bidyut. “Changing Scenario of Crop Diversification in Nepal: Delineating the Role of Trade Openness, Urbanization and Rural Infrastructure”. Tekirdağ Ziraat Fakültesi Dergisi 18, no. 4 (December 2021): 599-612. https://doi.org/10.33462/jotaf.746464.
EndNote Ghosh B (December 1, 2021) Changing Scenario of Crop Diversification in Nepal: Delineating the Role of Trade Openness, Urbanization and Rural Infrastructure. Tekirdağ Ziraat Fakültesi Dergisi 18 4 599–612.
IEEE B. Ghosh, “Changing Scenario of Crop Diversification in Nepal: Delineating the Role of Trade Openness, Urbanization and Rural Infrastructure”, JOTAF, vol. 18, no. 4, pp. 599–612, 2021, doi: 10.33462/jotaf.746464.
ISNAD Ghosh, Bidyut. “Changing Scenario of Crop Diversification in Nepal: Delineating the Role of Trade Openness, Urbanization and Rural Infrastructure”. Tekirdağ Ziraat Fakültesi Dergisi 18/4 (December 2021), 599-612. https://doi.org/10.33462/jotaf.746464.
JAMA Ghosh B. Changing Scenario of Crop Diversification in Nepal: Delineating the Role of Trade Openness, Urbanization and Rural Infrastructure. JOTAF. 2021;18:599–612.
MLA Ghosh, Bidyut. “Changing Scenario of Crop Diversification in Nepal: Delineating the Role of Trade Openness, Urbanization and Rural Infrastructure”. Tekirdağ Ziraat Fakültesi Dergisi, vol. 18, no. 4, 2021, pp. 599-12, doi:10.33462/jotaf.746464.
Vancouver Ghosh B. Changing Scenario of Crop Diversification in Nepal: Delineating the Role of Trade Openness, Urbanization and Rural Infrastructure. JOTAF. 2021;18(4):599-612.