Participatory Problem Diagnosis in Nepal: What Matters Most—Poverty

or Climate Change? D. Layne Coppock1, Nirmala Pandey2

and Dale Davis2 1Dept. Envir. & Society, USU, Logan, UT USA

2Helen Keller Intl., Chakupat, Lalitpur, Nepal

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Road Map

• Introduction to the issues

• Research objectives

• Study area and research methods

• Research results

• Discussion

• Development Interventions

• Conclusions

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Introduction

• Extensive poverty in far western Nepal

• Evidence of climate change

• Challenges of adaptation by the rural poor

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Research Objectives

• Identify local pathways to improve human welfare, mitigate poverty, and promote climate change adaptation

• Combine bottom-up with top-down perspectives to identify priority problems and solutions

• Clarify extent that poverty or climate change drives priority problems

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Study Area: Bajura District

Intervention VDCs

u Budhiganga

Atichaur

Jugada

Dahakot

Manakot Pandusain

Baddhu

Control VDCs

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Study Area: Sampled VDCs • Human population from 4,042 to

6,751

• Vulnerability to climate change = high

• Natural resource base = moderate

• Food insecurity = moderate

• Physical isolation = high

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Research Methods: PRA

A bottom-up, community-driven approach that requires “delivery” on solutions to build trust

• Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) used to:

– Better understand the farming systems

– Rank community problems

– Identify problems and solutions

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Research Methods: PRA Toolkit

• Problem-ranking matrix

• Historical timelines

• Labor calendars

• Institutional analyses

• Others

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Research Methods: Special Modifications to PRA

Community members grouped in different ways to spur participation…

Mixed Gender Men Only

Women Only Dalits Only

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Results: Cultivation Subsystem

--Crops grown on rain-

fed terraces include

cereal grains,

potatoes..

--Crops grown in sub-

irrigated valleys also

include cereal grains

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Results: Animal Subsystems

Goats raised for meat and grazed on common land as well as cut and carry

A few bovines used for ploughing fields or milk production, and fed via grazing, cut-and-carry

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Results: Household Subsystem

Typical household has husband and wife and 5 to 6 dependents Typical income levels vary: 5,000 to 36,000 Rs per year Most labor devoted to farming; off-site migration is common (18% migrate)

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Results: PRA Priority Problems Rank Top 7 Problems and Opportunities

Jugada Pandusen Dahakot Budhiganga

1 Shortage of drinking water

Shortage of drinking

water

Shortage of drinking

water

Lack of irrigation facility

2 Health and Sanitation Lack of green

vegetables

Declining agricultural

production

Unemployment/ lack of

income sources

3 Declining agricultural

production

Unemployment/ lack of

income sources

Traditional animal

husbandry

Declining agricultural

production

4 Unemployment/ lack of income

sources

Declining agricultural

production

Unemployment/ lack of

income sources

Shortage of drinking

water

5 Education Landslides Education Traditional animal

husbandry

6 Traditional animal husbandry

Declining Apple

production

Health and sanitation Poor condition of trails

7 Lack of skills and capacity Traditional animal

husbandry

Lack of electricity /MHP Lack of trail bridge

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Results Detail #1: Shortage of Drinking Water

Decrepit infrastructure had not been maintained nor kept pace with population growth

Negligible water storage tanks

Women haul water long distances for home use and livestock consumption

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Results Detail #2: Declining Crop Yields on the Terraces

Perceived declines in grain yields due to erratic, low precipitation Irrigation development infeasible Crop systems founded on traditional seeds and practices

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Results Detail #3: Need for Off-Farm Employment

Outmigration common but undesirable

Prefer local employment

Skill development options nominated by communities included apiculture, processing of plant and animal products, masonry, carpentry, horticulture…

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Results Detail #4: Need to Generate More On-Farm Income- Commercialize Animal Production

• Main option is to increase numbers of meat goats

• Constraints include labor, feeds, market information, inadequate housing

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Discussion: What Matters Most in Shaping Problems—Poverty or Climate Change?

Problem Poverty? Climate Change?

Shortage of Drinking Water

YES ---

Declines in Crop Yields

--- YES

Need for Off-Farm Employment

YES ---

Need to Commercialize Goat Production

YES ---

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Discussion: Lack of Innovation

Warming and drying of the climate requires innovation in the types of crops grown and how terraces are managed Out of 320 households surveyed in a parallel study, only a few exhibit any innovative tendencies Why? Most likely due to physical isolation of VDCs from outside world

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Discussion: Constraints for Problem Solutions

Problem Constraints

Shortage of Drinking Water High cost of infrastructure

Declines in Crop Yields Lack of management innovation; inability to irrigate

Need for Off-Farm Employment

Lack of local opportunities, including skill development

Need to Commercialize Goat Production

Can an expanded market be sustained?

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Development Interventions: Rainwater Catchment Systems

• Roof rain water harvest solves the problem for animal and human consumption

• Farmers were happy to construct and provided a 15% cost share as well as unskilled labor and local materials

• The intervention can last more than 30 years

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Development Interventions: Terrace Cropping Management

Need for drought-tolerant crop

varieties

Need for new methods for tillage and soil fertility and conservation management to better conserve soil moisture

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Development Interventions: Off-Farm Employment

• Training in production of stinging nettle powder

• Training in nursery production of forage, vegetables, and tree saplings

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Development Interventions: Livestock Commercialization

• Improved animal housing to promote health and productivity

• Training on goat marketing

• Organizing goat marketing groups

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Development Interventions: Social Outcomes of Participation

Community mobilization following PRA sessions

Enhanced savings and credit activity

Climate change education spurs action

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Conclusions

• High value of the PRA approach, both for research and community empowerment

• Lessons learned: Contrast of bottom-up versus project-driven philosophy

• Both poverty and climate change shape priority problems, but poverty is dominant

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Acknowledgements

• HKI PRA team (M. Shrestha, A. Basnet, D. Duwal, and others)

• Community members of the four VDCs

• Local government authorities

• Work made possible from support of USAID BEAT, grant no. EEM-A-00-10-00001

Any Questions?

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