1. Agriculture in Nepal
Pradeep Wagle

2. Background Information: Nepal

3. Nepal Land locked country in South East Asia.
Home for eight of the world's ten tallest mountains, including the highest point on Earth, Mount Everest (8848 masl or ft).
Land area:
Nepal: 56,827 sq. miles
Oklahoma: 68,667 sq. miles
Population:
Nepal: App. 30 million
Oklahoma: 3.75 million

4. Climate:
Elevation ranges from 70 m (230 ft) to 8848 m (29,029 ft) above sea level.
Tremendous variation in climate (tropical to temperate) as a result of variation in altitude.
Three distinct regions: Southern plain Terai (23%), Mid hills (42%) and Mountains (35%).
Nepal’s weather is generally predictable and pleasant. There are four main climatic seasons: (a) Spring : March-May (b) Summer : June-August (c) Autumn : September-November (d) Winter : December-February
June to September – rainy season (80% of annual rainfall)

5. Statistics Cultivable land – 4 million ha (30% of total land)
Irrigated land – 1 million ha
Forest – 4 million ha (30 % of total land)
About 39% of Country’s GDP from Agriculture.
65% people derive livelihood from Agriculture.
Agriculture is largely based on low-value cereals and subsistence production, with a mere 13 percent of output traded in markets (The World Bank report).

6. Reasons for subsistence farming:
Continuous land fragmentation (av. family holding acreage less than 1 ha)
Unavailability of other employments in rural areas
Low investment capacity
Lack of infrastructure and market opportunities

7. Major crops in Nepal
Cereals: Rice, maize, wheat, millet and barley. Rice is followed by maize and wheat.
Vegetables: Potato, cabbage, cauliflower, radish, tomato, beans, brinjal, chilli etc.
Fruits: Mango, apple, peach, pear, litchi, orange, banana etc.
Cash crops: Oil seed crops, potato, tobacco, sugarcane, jute, ginger, cardamom, tea etc.
Increasing trends of growing vegetables and cash crops in areas with road and market facilities.

8. Ag statistics (Source: Ministry of Ag)
Crop
Land (million ha)
Production (million MT)
Rice
1.5
(3 MT/ha) 4.5
Corn
0.9
(2 MT/ha) 1.9
Wheat
0.3
Cash crops*
0.5 5
Pulses and beans
Fruit
0.07
0.7
Vegetables
0.23
2.8
Cotton
100 ha
59 MT
Tea _
16000 MT
Coffee
300 MT
Milk production: 1.5 million MT (1 million MT from buffaloes and 0.5 million MT from cows)
Meat production: 0.25 million MT (Buffalo – 0.15 m MT, Goat – 0.05 m MT, chicken and others – 0.05 m MT)

9. Productivity of Major Cereals:
Rice
Millet
Central Bureau of Statistics, 2005

10. Rice
Rice is grown in a diverse environments ranging from tropical plains to foot of the mountain at highest elevation (10,000 ft).
Nepal’s average productivity (3 MT/ha) whereas world average (4 MT/ha).
Nepal has released fifty five (55) rice varieties with full package of growing practices in the last 40 years. New aromatic rice variety released in 2008.

11. Reasons behind low production:
Use of older generation seeds (most farmers use their own seed for decades)
Low doses of fertilizers
Little use of improved cultivation practices

12. Corn The second most important cereal in Nepal.
Grown from sub tropical to cool temperate climates (upto 8000 ft).
Grown under rainfed condition.
Over 25 vars. developed in Nepal for diff. regions
Area under improved maize ~ 86%. However production has not increased much (steadily increasing trend).
Recommended spacing: 25 cm P-P, and 75 cm R-R
Weeding at 5-8 leaf stage
Apply urea (2-3 g) to each plant and earthing up at knee height stage

13. Reasons behind low corn production
Farmers use higher seed rates (>100%) but final population 38% lower (after thinning) (Carlos U. Urrea, CIMMYT – Nepal)
Farmers use 2-3 g urea per plant (44 kg N/ha for plants) (National recom. for corn 100:80:60 NPK/ha)
Poor adoption of new varieties
Lack of awareness of new varieties
Inaccessibility of seed of new variety (lack of active seed providers at local level)
No/low cash economy
Prone to stored grain pests

14. Sources of farm power: No. of tractors > 30,000 (2003)
(Manandhar, G. B.) *(Adhikary, S. K.)

15. Mechanization status
In hills and mountains: Traditional tools and implements existing (depended upon human and animal power)
Limitations for mechanization:
Narrow terraces
Lack of road networks and electricity
Options:
Improve hand tools and animal drawn implements

16. Mechanization (Cont.)
In plain Terai: The use of mechanically powered machines (tractors and power-tillers) are gradually increasing for tillage, transport, and threshing.
Transplanting, weeding, and harvesting are still done manually.

17. Machines/equipment popular among farmers
Pedal paddy thresher – Kathmandu valleys and hills
Power wheat thresher- Kathmandu valley
Multi-crop thresher – Plain Terai region
Rice sheller – hills and terai
Zero tillage seed drill – Terai
Surface seeding of wheat (min tillage) – Terai
Bullock drawn seed drills
Bullock drawn iron plough
Bed planter – Terai
Manual rice and corn planters
Manual and Pedal corn sheller

18. Rice Transplanting
Rice field preparation

19. Corn seeding behind plough furrow
Weeding

20. Obstacles to commercialization of agriculture
Mountainous terrain (restrict mechanization)
Poorly developed road network (restrict access to markets)
Inadequate technical support
Inefficient exploitation of water resources (< 40% cultivable land irrigated)
High land fragmentation, absentee landlordism/ unequal land distribution
Subsidies in India ’s agricultural sector mean that Nepal ’s Terai region faces competition with Indian cereal production

21. Possibilities: Increase yields through:
Implementation of innovation techniques
Use of genetically improved crop var. (GMOs)
Fertilizer applications (soil and nutrition mgmt.)
Shift from a subsistence to a commercial economy
Improve farmers’ economy:
Commercial and industrial crops in Terai (Plain area).
High value horticulture and cereal production in the Mountains and Hills.
Exports of off-season horticulture, niche products, and non-timber forest products like medicinal plants.
Organic production is practiced by default in Nepal. Those produce needs to be certified.

22. Thank you