Improving the Resilience of Mixed-Farm Systems to Pending Climate Change in Far Western Nepal
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Improving the Resilience of Mixed-Farm Systems to Pending Climate Change in Far Western Nepal Baseline Survey Report Helen Keller International Nepal Submitted to: Utah State University October 2014 1 Acknowledgements We gratefully acknowledge collaboration with Utah State University (USU) that allowed us to undertake this baseline survey in Bajura District, Far Western Nepal. This effort was conducted under the auspices of a program entitled Feed the Future Innovation Laboratory— Adapting Livestock Systems to Climate Change. The baseline survey was designed with the technical guidance of D. Layne Coppock (USU) and was ably modified and implemented by Mahesh Shrestha and Nirmala Pandey from Helen Keller International (HKI). Support provided by the HKI field team, led by Diwakar Duwal, is also gratefully acknowledged, as is the contribution of the HKI research analysis and review team. The research and review team included Sanjeev Giri (SPSS data coding), Dr. Megha Raj Banjara (data analysis and reporting), and Sanoj Tulachan (review and editing). The cooperation of the residents from the Jugara, Budhiganga, Gudukhati, and Atichaur study communities are particularly thanked for their generous participation and important contributions to the survey results. This work was made possible through support provided by the Bureau for Economic Growth, Agriculture, and Trade, U.S. Agency for International Development, under the terms of Grant No. EEM-A-00-10-00001. The opinions expressed herein are those of the investigators and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Agency for International Development or the U. S. government. Dale Davis Country Director Helen Keller International 2 Executive summary This report provides a summary of the main results of a household baseline survey carried out in late 2013 in four village development committees (VDC) in Bajura District. A total of 320 households were surveyed with 80 per VDC. Two of the VDCs have been subsequently targeted for interventions related to climate change adaptation, while two VDCs have voluntary agreed to serving as paired “controls.” This baseline survey was undertaken as part of a study entitled, ‘Improving the Resilience of Mixed Farm Systems to Pending Climate Change in Far Western Nepal’, conducted by USU and HKI. The baseline survey was carried out using a household survey instrument. Male and female household heads were interviewed via a semi-structured questionnaire. Questions covered general information concerning household and land resources, annual income and expenditures, participation in community groups, community governance, water resources, livestock production, crop production, food- and health-related problems, needed development support, and information on out-migration of family members. The data analysis provided in this report focuses on the absolute estimation of resource endowments and the relative occurrence of various socio-cultural, economic, agricultural, and natural-resource features across the four VDCs. A summary of findings is provided on pages 30- 31, and those details will not be reproduced here. Overall, the four VDCs appear similar in most respects and this justifies the research design of our continuing work. The households exhibit the typical social, economic, and resource characteristics of Bajura District. Income levels are low and the people are typically poor and food insecure. Holdings of land and livestock are meager, and the need for off-farm income is prominent. Labor migration is therefore common for all VDCs. There is a general awareness among survey respondents of a changing climate overall, and it is recognized that the agricultural systems need to adapt. Perhaps the most important finding from the baseline effort is the continuing, and wholly traditional, character of crop and livestock production. There was little, if any, evidence of farmer innovation or farmers planning to cope with future problems. There were no reports of people seeking outside information or new technology. We suspect that this reflects the profound social, economic, and physical isolation of these communities from the outside world, and illustrates the fundamental challenge of how to help such communities adapt to climate change when they are so incredibly marginalized. Survey results suggest that these communities most desire human health-care interventions, climate-suitable seeds, local production of more nutritious food, and improved access to water. These priorities were somewhat similar to those revealed in Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) diagnostics conducted during the previous year. Data are being rigorously analyzed at USU to assess statistically significant variation among the VDCs. The initial results provided here remain as an invaluable initial snapshot that can guide further thinking on the project. 3 Table of Contents Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................ 2 Executive summary ............................................................................................................................... 3 1.0 Introduction and objective ......................................................................................................... 8 1.1 Background .................................................................................................................................. 8 1.2 Objective ...................................................................................................................................... 9 2.0 Study Design and Methodology ................................................................................................ 10 2.1 Study design............................................................................................................................... 10 2.2 Study district and sites.............................................................................................................. 10 2.3 Sample size, selection of households and respondents ......................................................... 10 2.4 Data collection instrument ....................................................................................................... 11 2.5 Enumerator training ................................................................................................................. 11 2.6 Data collection ........................................................................................................................... 12 2.7 Data management and analysis................................................................................................ 12 3.0 Preliminary Findings ................................................................................................................. 13 3.1 Household features .................................................................................................................. 14 3.2: Human organization, innovation, and governance .............................................................. 13 3.3: Perceived changes in the environment and farming practices ........................................... 18 3.4: Use and access to water .......................................................................................................... 19 3.5: Livestock and fodder .............................................................................................................. 20 3.6: Cultivated crops and farming methods ................................................................................. 23 3.7: Food, health, and climate change adaptation ...................................................................... 29 4.0 Summary and Conclusions ........................................................................................................ 30 References .......................................................................................................................................... 32 Annex A: Questionnaire of Baseline Survey ..................................................................................... 33 4 List of Tables Page No Table 1: Household distribution in four VDCs as categorized by wealth 11 Table 2: Surveyed household heads by gender 11 Table 3: Occupations for household members ≥10 years of age 13 Table 4: Household education level 14 Table 5: Household land resource 14 Table 6: Estimated household income sources 15 Table 7: Estimated household cash expenditures 16 Table 8: Household labor migration 16 Table 9: Household involvement with community organizations 17 Table 10: Reasons for households using/not using information for planning 18 Table 11: Average allocation for water use across all sampled households 19 Table 12: Most important livestock production problems across all sampled households 22 Table 13: Interest in goat production across all sampled households 23 Table 14: Crop production patterns across all sampled households 23 Table 15: Estimated post-harvest losses across all sampled households 24 Table 16: Irrigation methods across all sampled households 25 Table 17: Planting and tillage methods across all sampled households 25 Table 18: Weeding methods across all sampled households 26 Table 19: Manuring and composting methods across all sampled households 26 Table 20: Mulching methods across all sampled households 27 Table 21: Fallowing of cropland across all sampled households 27 Table 22: Methods of pest control across all sampled households 28 Table