Enhancing Labor Productivity via Local Agro-governance of Nepal

Abstract

Agriculture is vital for Nepal's livelihoods and economy, contributing approximately 27% to the national gross domestic product and acting as a buffer during economic downturns. Nepalese agriculture, with a rich history, faces challenges of declining profitability, causing farming abandonment, especially among the youth, despite local policy efforts. Addressing issues of unprofitability, land degradation, input inadequacy, and low productivity requires targeted agricultural research and policy reforms. Sustainable agro-practices, resilience, and achieving socio-economic indices are current community demands. This quantitative research design includes various constructs of agro-production and local agro-governance, estimating labor productivity through multiple regression. The research results revealed the importance of agro-policies focusing on farm inputs, agriculture extension, and governance enrichment. Minimizing policy shocks and executing labor-extensive short-term and long-term strategies are crucial for comprehensive agro-development.

Keywords

• Farm inputs
• labor productivity
• land-labor ratio
• local agro-governance
• sustainable agriculture

References

1. Abro, Z. A., Alemu, B.A., Hanjra, M.A. (2014). Policies for agricultural productivity growth and poverty reduction in rural Ethiopia. World Dev. 59, 461-474. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2014.01.033.
2. ADB (Asian Development Bank), 2013. Nepal: Agricultural Development Strategy-Final Report (Technical Assistance Consultant’s Report. Prepared by PPTA Consultants Kathmandu, Nepal for Government of Nepal).
3. Amire, C. M. (2016). The Effect of Agricultural Productivity on Economic Growth in Nigeria. Journal of Advances in Social Science and Humanities, 2(4).
4. Awoyemi, B. O., Afolabi, B., & Akomolafe, K. J. (2017). Agricultural productivity and economic growth: impact analysis from Nigeria. Scientific Research Journal (SCIRJ), 5(10), 1-7.
5. Babbie, E., & Benaquisto, L. (2001). Qualitative field research. The Practice of Social Research, 9, 298-300. Babu, S. C., Mavrotas, G., Prasai, N. (2018). Integrating environmental considerations in the agricultural policy process: evidence from Nigeria. Environ. Dev. 25, 111-125.
6. Barkley, A. & Barkley, P. W. (2020). Principles of Agricultural Economics, (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge, 2020. ISBN 0429284799, 9780429284793, DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429284793.
7. Basnet, B. M. S. (2012). Rice: Water, food security and climate change in Nepal. Hydro Nepal: Journal of Water, Energy, and Environment, 78-80.
8. Basnet, B.M.S. (2010a). Environmentally-friendly and sustainable rice production: A success story, Congress program, a paper presented at the IRRI, 3rd International Rice Congress, Hanoi, Vietnam, 8-12, November 2010.

9. Basnet, B.M.S. (2010b). Climate change and food security, a paper presented at the Nepal Federation of Environment Journalists (NEFEJ), Kathmandu, Nepal.
10. Bedari, A., Rawat, G., Amgain, L. P., Thapa, D. B., & Poudel, M. (2020). Productivity and profitability of different varieties of Chaite rice grown under different sowing methods at Baniyani, Jhapa. Nepalese Journal of Agricultural Sciences 2020, 19, 155-164.
11. Bhandari, D. R., Sanjel, P. K., & Adhikari, S. (2017). Policy review of paddy production in Nepal. Rice Science and Technology in Nepal (MN Poudel, DR Bhandari, MP Khanal, BK Joshi, P Acharya and KH Ghimire, eds) Crop Development Directorate (CCD), Hariharbhawan and Agronomy Society of Nepal (ASoN) Khumaltar, 719-734.
12. Bishwakarma, B.K., Upreti, B.R., Devkota, D. and Devkota, N.R. (2021). Agricultural Functions and Policies in the Context of Sectoral Restructuring in Nepal. International Journal of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development Studies, 8(2), 12-28.
13. Bishwokarma, N., (2017). Possibilities and Challenges of the Agriculture Development Strategy 2015.
14. Blanco, M., Ramos, F., Van Doorslaer, B., Martínez, P., Fumagalli, D., Ceglar, A., & Fernández, F. J. (2017). Climate change impacts on EU agriculture: A regionalized perspective taking into account market-driven adjustments. Agricultural systems, 156, 52-66.
15. Brodt, S., Six, J., Feenstra, G., Ingels, C., & Campbell, D. (2011). Sustainable agriculture. Nat. Educ. Knowl., 3(1). CBS (Central Bureau of Statistics). (2013). National Sample Census of Agriculture 2011/2012: National Report, Kathmandu: Central Bureau of Statistics, National Planning Commission, Government of Nepal.
16. Chaudhary, D. (2018). Agricultural policies and rural development in Nepal: An overview. Research Nepal Journal of Development Studies, 1(2), 34-46.
17. Choudhary, D., Banskota, K., Khanal, N. P., McDonald, A. J., Krupnik, T. J., & Erenstein, O. (2022). Rice subsector development and farmer efficiency in Nepal: implications for further transformation and food security. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 5, 740546.
18. Corral, S., Díaz, A. S., Monagas, M. D. C., & García, E. C. (2017). Agricultural policies and their impact on poverty reduction in developing countries: Lessons learned from three water basins in Cape Verde. Sustainability, 9(10), 1841. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9101841.
19. Cortignani, R., & Dono, G. (2018). Agricultural policy and climate change: An integrated assessment of the impacts on an agricultural area of Southern Italy. Environmental Science & Policy, 81, 26-35.
20. Cumming, G. S. (2016). Heterarchies: reconciling networks and hierarchies. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 31(8), 622-632. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2016.04.009.
21. Devkota, S., & Upadhyay, M. (2013). Agricultural Productivity and Poverty Reduction in Nepal. Review of Development Economics, 17(4), 732-746.
22. FIARCC. (2016). Unbundling/Detailing of List of Exclusive and Concurrent Powers of the Federation, the State (Province), and the Local Level Provisioned in the Schedule-5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 of the Constitution of Nepal, Kathmandu, Nepal, Report on Federalism Implementation and Administration Restructuring Coordination Committee.
23. Gauchan, D. (2008). Agricultural development in Nepal: contribution to economic growth, food security, and poverty reduction. Socio-Economic Development Panorama, 1(3), 49-64.
24. GC, A., Yeo, J. H., & Ghimire, K. (2019). Determinants of farm mechanization in Nepal. Turkish Journal of Agriculture-Food Science and Technology, 7(1), 87-91.
25. GoN/FAO (Government of Nepal and Food and Agriculture Organization) (2013). Nepal: Country Programming Framework 2013-2017. Government of Nepal and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Kathmandu.
26. Goyal, A., & Nash, J. (2017). Reaping Richer Returns: Public Spending Priorities for African Agriculture Productivity Growth. World Bank Publications.
27. Houmy, K., Clarke, L. J., Ashburner, J. E., & Kienzle, J. (2013). Agricultural mechanization in Sub-saharan Africa: guidelines for preparing a strategy (Vol. 22). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
28. Hughes, O. E. (1998). New Public Management. Public Management and Administration: An Introduction, 2nd ed. Macmillan, London.
29. Ivanic, M., & Martin, W. (2018). Sectoral productivity growth and poverty reduction: National and global impacts. World Development, 109, 429-439.
30. Jones, J. W., Antle, J. M., Basso, B., Boote, K. J., Conant, R. T., Foster, I., ... & Wheeler, T. R. (2017). Brief history of agricultural systems modeling. Agricultural Systems, 155, 240-254.
31. Kapri, K., & Ghimire, S. (2020). Migration, remittance, and agricultural productivity: Evidence from the Nepal Living Standard Survey. World Development Perspectives, 19, 100198.
32. Kaur, H. (2013). Agriculture: The way to inclusive growth. IOSR Journal of Business and Management, 9(6), 42-47. Milczarek-Andrzejewska, D., Zawalińska, K., & Czarnecki, A. (2018). Land-use conflicts and the common agricultural policy: evidence from Poland. Land use policy, 73, 423-433.
33. Mittenzwei, K., Persson, T., Höglind, M., & Kværnø, S. (2017). Combined effects of climate change and policy uncertainty on the agricultural sector in Norway. Agricultural Systems, 153, 118-126.
34. MoALD (Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development). (2020). Collection of Agriculture Policies, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Kathmandu.
35. MoALD (Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development). (2021). Annual Progress Report (वार्षिक प्रगति प्रतिवेदन), Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Kathmandu.
36. MoALD (Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development). (2022). Ministerial Report on Rice Production and Productivity in F.Y. 2022/23. Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Kathmandu.
37. Mogues, Tewodaj., & Erman, Alvania. (2016). Institutional arrangements to make public spending responsive to the poor— (where) have they worked?: Review of the evidence on four major intervention types. International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) discussion papers, (1519).
38. Mueller, B., & Mueller, C. (2016). The political economy of the Brazilian model of agricultural development: Institutions versus sectoral policy. The quarterly review of economics and finance, 62, 12-20.
39. NPC (National Planning Commission) (2020). The Fifteenth Plan (2019/20-2023/24). National Planning Commission, Kathmandu.
40. NSO (National Statistics Office). (2023). National Population and Housing Census, 2021. (In Nepali). National Statistics Office, Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, Government of Nepal, Kathmandu.
41. Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (2001). Measuring Productivity: Measurement of Aggregate and Industry Level Productivity Growth: OECD Manual. Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.
42. Oskam, A., Meester, G., & Silvis, H. (2011). EU Policy for agriculture, food, and rural areas. Wageningen academic publishers.
43. Pradhanang, U. B., Pradhanang, S. M., Sthapit, A., Krakauer, N. Y., Jha, A., & Lakhankar, T. (2015). National livestock policy of Nepal: needs and opportunities. Agriculture, 5(1), 103-131.
44. Saint Ville, A. S., Hickey, G. M., & Phillip, L. E. (2017). Institutional analysis of food and agriculture policy in the Caribbean: The case of Saint Lucia. Journal of Rural Studies, 51, 198-210. Sam, I. O. (2013). The measurement of productive and technical efficiency of cassava farmers in the North-Central Zone of Nigeria. Research Journal of Agriculture and Environmental Management. 2(10), 323-331.
45. Schwartz, B. M. (2012). d'Afrique, Louvain/Paris, Editions Nauwelaerts, 404 pp. 1965-1969, 1, 294.
46. Sidibé, A., Totin, E., Thompson-Hall, M., Traoré, O. T., Traoré, P. C. S., & Olabisi, L. S. (2018). Multi-scale governance in agriculture systems: Interplay between national and local institutions around the production dimension of food security in Mali. NJAS-Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences, 84, 94-102.
47. Singh, S. (2012). Institutional and policy aspects of Punjab agriculture: A smallholder perspective. Economic and Political Weekly, 51-57.
48. Stringer, R. (2001). How Important Are the Non-traditional Economic Roles of Agriculture in Development?. Centre for International Economic Studies.
49. Swinnen, J. (2018). The Political Economy of Agricultural and Food Policies. Palgrave Macmillan, New York.
50. Takeshima, H., & Liu, Y. (2018). The role of plant-breeding R&D in tractor adoptions among smallholders in Asia: Insights from Nepal Terai (Vol. 1719). Intl. Food Policy Res. Inst.
51. Tanentzap, A. J., Lamb, A., Walker, S., & Farmer, A. (2015). Resolving conflicts between agriculture and the natural environment. PLoS biology, 13(9), e1002242.
52. Timsina, K. P., Shrestha, K. P., & Pandey, S. (2012, April). Factors affecting the adoption of new modern varieties of Rice in eastern Terai of Nepal. In the proceeding of 4th Society of Agricultural Scientist-Nepal (SAS-N) conference held at Lalitpur from (pp. 4-6).
53. Uprety, R. (2010, November). Meshing mechanization with SRI methods for rice cultivation in Nepal. In 28th International Rice Research Conference (pp. 8-12).
54. World Bank Group. (2016). Nepal: Sources of Growth in Agriculture for Poverty Reduction and Shared Prosperity. World Bank.
55. World Bank. (2007). World Development Report 2008: Agriculture for Development. The World Bank.