Agro-Forestry Based Farming
for Food and Nutrition Security
A Reflection of a Nepali Farmer
About Myself Lyam
Bahadur Darjee
Country: Nepal, lives in western part
of Neapl, rural area, five family
members.
- Land 0.5 hector for the entire family
- Land rented another 0.5 hector land
paying USD 80 as a rent annum.
- General Secretary of National Land
Rights Forum (NLRF), An People’s
organization where only the land
deprived people can be a members.
Which is members of AFA.
-There are two community forests in my village
adjoining to my farming field.
-Our livestock is depended on the forest. This forest
is a source of little water that comes to our field and
we grow food.
-We cannot imagine our lives without forest and the
forest cannot be conserved without our sincere
efforts.
There are 3.8 million families (70% of total population) whose
livelihoods have been relied upon forests-based agriculture.
I am one of them and I take this opportunity to share with you
our challenges regarding our livelihoods and our struggle to
resolve them.
1. Nepalese Context
- Population: 26.4 million
- Total Families:5.4 Million
- Peasant Families:3.8 Million (70 percent)
- Forest area: 39% Agricultural Area: 21%
- Contribution of Agricultural in National
production:35%
- Uncultivated land: 1.3 million ha
- Women in Agriculture: 89%
- Average Land Coverage of family: 0.7 ha
Cont…
- Youths in foreign employment: 3.5 million
- 25% of the rural population are absolutely landless
- Increased land grabbing and forced eviction by
powerful elites and the state respectively
- Over half (58%) of the rural population are
functionally landless, with holdings too small even
for subsistence requirements (<0.5 ha)
Critical issues
1. There is growing tendency of rich or elites to buy land
for profit and keeping the land barren around the forest.
This has systematically been pushed away indigenous
tribes (Chepang, Santhal, Kishan, Tamang, and Raji) and
dalits from their livelihood .
2.Government, business associations and private
entrepreneurs have been increasing their investment
on corporate farming and commercial farming land poor
and smallholders displacing the tilling and living land.
Cont…….
3.Community forests are being captured by the timber
entrepreneurs and the political actors.
4. Government has been evicting forcefully to the poor
families residing in the near by the forests ….
5. The indigenous knowledge about forest conservation
and sustainable farming have not been recognized and
utilized.
6. Over 51% small farmers cannot produce
food from their farm for more than six
months in a year. Small farmers have been
alienating from source of income and self
respect due to this challenge.
Our Appeal for different national and international
institutions and organizations
1. The government, donors and financial institutions
(national and international) must provide subsidy and
enabling policy environment in support of small women
and men farmers.
2. Landless and small farmers who have been living
around forest and whose livelihoods is depended on
natural resources should be protected and ensure the
farmers’ rights.
3. There must be mandatory curriculum from
primary school to university to teach new
generation and young people about the
interrelationship between forest, farming and
livelihoods
5. The World Food and Agriculture
Organization should launch a campaign to
prohibit commercial pressure on land by non
farmers or corporate sectors.
5. There must be community-based land and
forest governance instead of bureaucracy-led
land and forest governance.
6.
All actors, including government and international
community must consider food sovereignty from the
perspective of self reliance and autonomy of local
farmers.
7. Agriculture should not be considered only as
means for macro economic development instead it
should consider as important means for i) food and
nutrition security for all; and ii) self reliant livelihoods
of people and substitution of food import.
Thank you !!!!