Agriculture in Nepal
For the majority of developing nations, agriculture has been a significant part of the national economy
(Mongues et al., 2012), and it is crucial to almost all social and economic activities worldwide (Lawal,
2011). According to MOALD 2021/22, the contribution of agriculture to Nepal's overall GDP is 23%.
Cervantes-Godoy and Dewbre (2010) discovered that people who depend on agriculture for a living in
developing countries are typically much poorer than those who work in other sectors of the economy
and that they represent a sizeable portion, frequently the majority, of all the poor people in the
countries where they live today. The agricultural industry can support agro-based companies with raw
resources, employment, and food security. In Nepal, agriculture has been contributing to more than 70
percent households (CBS, 2013), 66 percent employment (MoAD, 2015) and 35.12 percent share to
National Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (MoF, 2014). Thus, agriculture is regarded as a major contributor
to the national economy as well as individuals' livelihood. A strong and efficient agricultural sector would
enable a country to feed its growing population, generate employment, earn foreign exchange and
provide raw materials for agro-based industries. Agriculture sector has multiplier effect on any nation's
socio-economic and industrial fabric because of its multifunctional nature (Ogen, 2007; MoF, 2014)
however it is affected by favorable/unfavorable climatic conditions, resulting in the fluctuation of GDP.
Overview of female farmers in Nepal
In rural areas, women are involved in a variety of tasks including farmwork,caring for family members, an
d working with livestock. They mainly contribute for the household consumption and food preparation.
Therefore, it is believed that women play a crucial role in furthering agricultural development and food s
ecurity (FAO, 2011). Women make up over 43% of all agricultural laborers worldwide (Akter et al., 2017).
About half of all agricultural laborers are women in Asian and African nations (Agarwal, 2015).
Despite the fact that they contribute more, they face obstacles in the variety of activities they engage in,
including limited property ownership, access to financing, other services, and the ability to hire labor (Do
ss et al., 2008). This gap exists because women frequently have unequal access to key agricultural inputs
such as land, labor, knowledge, fertilizer, and improved seeds (Sheahan and Barrett, 2014; Kassieet al.,
2015). The authors revealed that women farmers generally face greater difficulty in obtaining fertilizers
and water, particularly in African and Asian countries. Women generally do not have access to land and
pursue farming on land owned by their husband or other male family members. Also, if women do have
access to land, they seldom have the rights to lease or sell it (Agarwal, 2015). Because of these
constraints and women's sub-ordinate position in the society, the contribution of women in the field
often goes unrecognized.
Problem faced by female farmers
In Nepal the female headed household comprise of only 25.7% (CBS, 2018). And participation of women
in economic activities is 55.2% versus 71.6% of men indicating a poor status of Nepalese women (CBS,
2009). Women are mostly involved in non-productive activities such as household chores and other farm
activities which do not account value for their work. In an ideal Nepalese household, man generates
income and his wife involves in domestic activities. Usually, men are responsible to earn either through
farming or through non-farm activities, while women are responsible for child bearing/rearing,
household chores and tending animals (Bhattarai, 2002). Inclined male out migration in the search of
better job opportunities have resulted in increased work burden over women's. Now, women have to
perform the work of house and that of farm. Women perform almost all the task except ploughing and
transporting of the final produce, which are exclusively performed by men (Venkateswaran, 1995;
Aggarwal et al., 2013). However, the contribution of gender in vegetable production is found reversed.
Role of women in homestead vegetable cultivation activities is found dominant in comparison to men
(Sultana, 1993; Rana et al., 2018).
Production Practices and techniques
As farmers, labourers, and entrepreneurs, women play an important role in the agriculture sector and
development of rural economies. With increasing involvement in land and water management and as
collectors of water and fodder, women provide critical support to the health of rainfed/dryland farms
and livestock in areas where soil is unproductive, rains are erratic/insufficient, and the men have
migrated in search of work, leaving the women behind to earn additional incomes through agriculture
and allied activities, minor forest produce, and local enterprises. Being unpaid in nature, these efforts of
women are dampened as they are not recognized as primary producers. The women continue to face
constraints in accessing land, credit, technology, agricultural inputs, services, and market opportunities.
The interlinkages between gender, sustainable food, and nutrition security highlight the need to identify
and operationalise mechanisms and incentives that forge links among the agriculture and social welfare
sectors.
With the thrust on strengthening community institutions, the National Rural Livelihood Mission aims to
empower poor women farmers to enhance participation, improve productivity, and pursue sustainable
livelihoods through systematic investments in building knowledge, skills, and capacities.
A localised holistic approach and an enhanced role of women collectives vis-à-vis promoting
sustainability and livelihoods in agriculture and allied activities would include:
Inclusion of women cultivators in land records
Adopting a gender-agriculture-natural resource management-health nexus approach
Enhancing practices, choices, and concerns of women farmers in the areas of seed production,
agro-biodiversity, sustainable agricultural practices, and natural resource management
Empowering women in resource-efficient agricultural value chains
Engendering technological innovation; aligning women collectives for impacts along multiple
SDGs
Extending SHGs as a social enterprise for women empowerment and sustainability
An enabling environment that can further empower women will comprise innovative skill sets and ICT-
based improved technologies that take into account the women’s needs and reduce their drudgery. An
enhanced role as primary producers and higher participation in decision-making processes will lead to
recognition of their contributions in the overall development of rural economy.
Production Efficiency
Enhancing the efficiency in vegetable farms helps farmers to increase their income and improve
livelihoods. Vegetable farming is labor-intensive and the role of women is dominating in vegetable
production and food systems in the developing countries. However, there is an enduring debatable issue
on women labor contribution and their discrimination in relation to efficiency. This paper analyses the
contribution of women labor on the efficiency of smallholder vegetable farms in mountain region of
Nepal adopting the output-oriented data envelopment analysis (DEA) model using survey data collected
during July-August, 2013.. We recommend policies to encourage and to empower women farmers in
vegetable farming with integrated incentive packages consisting of education, agriculture extension and
training, market access, and women focused programs that enhance the efficiency levels in vegetable
production.
