Table Of ContentKeshav Lall Maharjan Editor
Communities
and Livelihood
Strategies in
Developing
Countries
Communities and Livelihood Strategies
in Developing Countries
Keshav Lall Maharjan
Editor
Communities and Livelihood
Strategies in Developing
Countries
Editor
Keshav Lall Maharjan
Hiroshima University
Hiroshima, Japan
ISBN 978-4-431-54773-0 ISBN 978-4-431-54774-7 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-4-431-54774-7
Springer Tokyo Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London
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Preface
Sustainable development has been a focal issue in development discourse, more so
after the Rio Declaration with, 1992 Earth Summit and Rio Declaration to harmo-
nize economic and environment issues, especially in the context of developing
countries. Most of these countries are resource constrained and are facing the
dilemma of fairly allocating their scarce resources such that the needs of the major-
ity of their population living under poverty and hunger are met. It is not therefore
uncommon to observe in these countries that a sizeable proportion of their popula-
tion lives on an earning of less than US$1.25 a day (regarded as the poverty line), an
amount so small to motivate individuals to engage in meaningful economic activity
for a living. Economic opportunities fly in their faces and they cannot take advan-
tage of them. They become the marginalized and the vulnerable in society and sus-
ceptible to all manner of shocks, be they global (climate change, economic crises
and international contestations) or local (heavy rains, floods, droughts, volcanic
eruptions, earthquakes, crop failures, pest attacks, diseases, political conflicts and
other governance challenges). These shocks alter governance, production, and live-
lihood systems around the world. Agriculture, including crop, livestock, forestry,
and fishery sub-sectors, in rural communities of developing countries is more vul-
nerable because of those communities’ higher exposure and dependence on climate
sensitive options of production and livelihood systems, and limited adaptive capaci-
ties. This, in turn, adversely affects their production and livelihood strategies,
thereby making it harder to attain the millennium development goals.
Governments of developing countries do support farmers’ use of modern farm
inputs, “high-input high-yield agriculture”, in order to improve crop yield and com-
bat malnutrition and hunger around the world. The increased use of modern inputs
imposes danger by emitting high volumes of greenhouse gases (GHGs) into the
atmosphere, resulting in high temperature and uncertain rainfall patterns thereby
impacting negatively on crop yields. That is, the agriculture sector seems to be
heading towards a vicious cycle of becoming more vulnerable to climate variability
by its current production systems. It is therefore essential to improve upon current
production systems through methods that make them reduce emissions of GHGs but
at the same time enhance food production to fight malnutrition and hunger around
v
vi Preface
the world more effectively. It is not out of order to adopt farming methods that
enhance sustainable management of the natural resources and improve the adaptive
capacity of rural communities, thereby making them more resilient to various forms
of vulnerability. Well-planned and coordinated participatory local governance and
development programs could make a big difference in this regard.
With these issues in mind, this book discusses composite issues of development
including climate change, agricultural productivity, innovative livelihood sources,
and local governance capacity and participation within the context of rural commu-
nities of lower-middle income and developing economies. These issues have
become topical in international conferences of the United Nations and other devel-
opment partners. The above issues are usually treated by many researchers as sepa-
rate themes with weak linkages with one another. Policy proposals emanating from
such academic outputs are usually disjointed and incomprehensible to policy mak-
ers, and thereby are not likely to be implemented. This book intends to account
these challenges of rural development, together with some proposed actions and
policy solutions, into a coherent work that is accessible to development practitio-
ners, policymakers, researchers, students, and the public alike.
Thus, this book comprises ten chapters hinging on issues of agricultural develop-
ment challenges, governance, and capacity-building issues in rural areas, innovative
livelihood, and agricultural innovation adoptions by farmers spanning five countries
(Bangladesh, Ghana, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, and Nepal). Chapter 1, as the introduc-
tory chapter of the book, briefly discusses the sustainable livelihood strategies in the
context of rural communities in the developing countries to confront environmental
challenges, natural disasters, political/governance changes, often treated as shocks
that befall them which may or do disrupt their livelihoods. Chapter 2 explains how
changing climate affects revenues of farmers both in the short- and long-run peri-
ods, with adequate incorporation of adaptive responses by farmers. This allows for
clear separation between the impact of climate with and without farm-level adapta-
tion. Chapter 3 analyzes trends of climate variables and their effects on yields of
major food crops in hilly districts of Makwanpur and Ilam in Nepal based on time
series data spanning 30 years. Further, this chapter also tries to recognize the local
adaptation practices that could be important in promoting adaptation to climate
change in the region.
It is also imperative to note that farmers respond to adverse on-farm conditions
through various practices including changing the crops or varieties of those crops
cultivated. By so doing, they can adopt new improved varieties of important crops
grown in their communities. Replacing existing varieties is likely to reduce disease
and pest attacks, as old varieties often becomes less resistant with time. In Chap. 4,
the issue of adoption of improved rice seeds is discussed, with the intention of iden-
tifying the factors that strongly prompt farmers to accept improved rice varieties in
the Tarai Region, the granary of Nepal.
In Chap. 5, the processes of milk production among smallholder herders in
Baltagulov Village Government, Ala-Buka, Kyrgyzstan, is assessed. It is noted that
managing lactation and calving seasons of livestock to match periods of forage
availability is important to ensure persistent peak production of milk.
Preface vii
The practice of organic farming is gaining momentum in many countries. Apart
from its health benefits, rational or non-use of chemical fertilizers and/or pesticides
associated with organic agriculture is believed to generate higher economic benefits
through premium payments. Going organic has proven to be beneficial to rural com-
munities. Organic agriculture, involving minimal use of chemical inputs, promotes
soil fertility and conservation of biodiversity, thereby ensuring stable ecosystems in
the tropics. Organic production reduces the risk of yield failure, stabilizes returns,
and therefore enhances food security for small farmers’ families. As a livelihood
strategy, it can be the main source of income for some households, while for others
it can be adopted not for pecuniary reasons but just to promote the cause of organic
farming in one’s community through networking. With viable market access and
appropriate training of farmers, it can be an important livelihood strategy for farm-
ers. In Chap. 6, the efforts to propagate organic vegetable farming in the Kathmandu
and Chitwan districts of Nepal is analyzed with the object of identifying the factors,
including community trust and product certification, that determine the payment of
a market premium on organic vegetables in these geographical areas. Based on this,
proposals are made to ensure that the public accepts paying premium prices for
organic vegetables.
Sustainable livelihoods can also be promoted through smallholder gardening,
which entail growing of a variety of vegetables, food crops, and fruit trees on a
small plot of land. Smallholder gardening not only contributes to household food
security and incomes, but it also provides “green spaces” and biodiversity in local
communities. The participation of the highly marginalized Bagdi community of
Bangladesh in an action research project on kitchen gardening funded by Research
Initiatives Bangladesh (RIB) is described in Chap. 7. This practice can relieve poor
families of the so-called supermarket bills while, at the same time, providing nutri-
ent supplements to households and even generating supplemental cash income that
can enhance their livelihoods. Riverbed vegetable farming, under the auspices of
the Forum for Rural Welfare and Agricultural Reform for Development
(FORWARD) in partnership with Plan Nepal, is being piloted in the Tarai areas of
Nepal as a pro-poor measure for rural communities. Farmers in the Morang and
Banke districts have embraced this technology. In Chap. 8, a cost-benefit analysis
of this program is carried out to ascertain the profitability of this venture vis-à-vis
conventional farming and how a niche market can be created for their produce to
maximize revenue from riverbed farming especially for the underprivileged, land-
less people utilizing these wastelands.
Disasters are part and parcel of human activity. In Chap. 9, the recovery of small-
holder farmers from the ashes of the Mount Merapi volcanic eruption in 2010 is
described. Dairy farmers living in this area suffered loss of their livestock to the
volcanic eruption. Because the farms were organized in groups, the government
found it easier to provide financial and logistic support to them. Such dairy farmers
not only were able to restore their livestock numbers, but they were also able to
improve the livestock value chain and establish linkages among various farmers’
groups in Sleman Regency, Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta Province, Indonesia.
viii Preface
The role of decentralized processes in promoting rural development cannot be
overemphasized. A successful decentralized system requires sufficient local
government capacity to implement newly transferred tasks. In Chap. 10, the capac-
ity of four rural institutions, namely, village officers, neighborhood groups, village
parliament, and village development committees in three villages (Serang,
Kedarpan, and Sumilir) in Purbalingga District, central Java, Indonesia, is assessed.
The intention of this chapter is to identify the village institutions that have human
resource capacity challenges to be addressed to promote village development in the
decentralized governance system.
It is hoped that this book will fulfill the needs of the people seeking to understand
the issues of shocks and their relations to agriculture and rural livelihoods in general
and those of communities and livelihood strategies in developing countries in par-
ticular. The empirical discussions in the local context, an addition to the dearth of
such works, will be useful to those concerned about enhancing the understanding of
an issue and its location-specific nature in developing countries. Readers are highly
valued and will be appreciated for any comments and advice they provide to improve
the contents of the book. Such comments will also furnish hints for research work
in the future, which when completed will be processed for publication sooner, also
by Springer.
I would like to acknowledge Zakaria Amidu Issahaku (Ph.D.) for his contribu-
tions in the editorial process, checking the manuscripts and organizing the chapters.
I also would like to thank Narayan Prasad Khanal (Ph.D.) for his contributions in
checking the manuscripts in the latter part of the editorial process.
Hiroshima, Japan Keshav Lall Maharjan
Contents
1 Communities and Livelihood Strategies: An Overview ...................... 1
Keshav Lall Maharjan and Zakaria Amidu Issahaku
2 Climate Change Impact on Revenue of Major Food Crops
in Ghana: Structural Ricardian Cross-Sectional Analysis .................. 13
Zakaria Amidu Issahaku and Keshav Lall Maharjan
3 Climate Variables and Their Impacts on Yield of Food Crops
in Makwanpur and Ilam Districts of Nepal .......................................... 33
Suman Lal Shrestha and Keshav Lall Maharjan
4 Adoption of Improved Rice Varieties
in the Tarai Region of Nepal .................................................................. 49
Narayan Prasad Khanal and Keshav Lall Maharjan
5 Effects of Environmental Factors on Cattle Milk Production
Among Smallholder Households in Ala-Buka, Kyrgyzstan ................ 65
Munavar Zhumanova, Zakaria Amidu Issahaku,
and Keshav Lall Maharjan
6 Farmers’ Perception on Impact of Organic Farming
on Yield and Income of Vegetables: A Case Study
in Kathmandu Valley and Chitwan District of Nepal .......................... 83
Mrinila Singh and Keshav Lall Maharjan
7 Riverbed Vegetable Farming for Enhancing Livelihoods
of People: A Case Study in the Tarai Region of Nepal ......................... 97
Gam Bahadur Gurung, Dharma Prasad Pande,
and Narayan Prasad Khanal
8 Income Generation Through People’s Participation:
Kitchen Gardening Practices of Three Marginalized
Bagdi Villages in Bangladesh ................................................................. 109
Ashoke Kumar Ghosh and Keshav Lall Maharjan
ix
