Category: News

After completing the 2 years of its action research journey, the project Economic Empowerment of Women through Forest Solutions has successfully carved out more than 240 rural marginalised women entrepreneurs and increased their economic, social, and technological empowerment through a series of trainings, visits, and capacity-building programs. During its implementation, they have come across policy, technological, and many other arduous legal barriers. So in order to represent the voices and stories of transformation of these entrepreneurs from the field to the table of policymakers, a one-day reflective national workshop was organized in Kathmandu. It aimed to enhance business and entrepreneurial knowledge through interaction and sharing their experiences, establish linkages between women-led production processes and the market through direct interactions with veteran entrepreneurs, and create a supportive and inclusive environment for the entrepreneurs in terms of policy and programme implementation, aiming for sustainable markets, and addressing the voice from the grassroots. As the diverse stakeholders are a crucial aspect of this national workshop, there was active engagement from diverse professional backgrounds who sparkled the discussion on different themes, intricately analysed the stories and voices of the entrepreneurs, and gave critical feedback and assurance to facilitate a supportive environment in as many aspects as possible.

The panelist discussion was centered on strategies and policies for the sustainability of microenterprises focusing on women’s engagement in the enterprise, Measures for easing registration and functioning, Major problems and issues encountered, strategies for solving the complications in the value chain of minor forest products, policy and practical gaps faced by women, and potential solutions to promote women in forest-based enterprises The issues faced by women entrepreneurs till now were: limited market, lack of skills of professional intermediaries at the local level, market expansion plans, formal product registration and certification, gender and caste discrimination, sustainability and availability of resources, maintaining quality, legitimacy of product prices, etc.

The common pathways echoed by the stakeholders were

● Accounting and expanding the use of local resources according to market potential.

● Developing strategies and implementing forest resource expansion programs,

● Market management and product diversification, for example, taking initiatives to bring Nepali paper and paper products to the national and international market,

● Producing and cultivating in community forests, private forests, and private lands for the sustainability of raw materials,

● Promoting agroforestry,

● Creating an environment of collaboration and cooperation with local government, domestic and divisional forest offices, banks and financial institutions, enterprise groups, value chain actors, community forests, and other stakeholders, and propagating the latest endeavors of knowledge and skills through various means

 

 

On July 30, 2023, ForestAction Nepal, the secretariat of the Alliance of Agriculture for Food (AAF), organized a preliminary discussion program on the need for an integrated agriculture act at SAP-Falcha, Kathmandu. The event was attended by distinguished guests, including Dr. Bedu Ram Bhusal, Honorable Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Development (MOALD), as well as the Secretary and joint secretaries from MOALD. There were also honorable members from the Agriculture, Cooperative, and Natural Resources Committee (under the House of Representatives), the National Planning Commission, the National Farmers Commission, and various other stakeholders, such as agriculture experts, farmers, media persons, activists, representatives of CSOs, and AAF members.

The event was conducted in two sessions. During the first session, two presentations were made, one by the Ministry and the other by AAF. The second session was dedicated to discussions on the topic at hand.

During the event, Dr. Rajendra Mishra, the joint secretary from MOALD, shared the first draft of the Agriculture bill that was prepared by the Ministry. In his presentation, he emphasized that the proposed act aims to promote the protection of farmers, the farming occupation, agri-business, water conservation, indigenous products/commodities, and agrobiodiversity.

Additionally, Dr. Rajendra Mishra further highlighted that the proposed act also encompasses the management of a gene bank and ensures the rights of farmers and farming communities.

At the event, Dr. Krishna Prasad Paudel, an AAF activist, presented a review of the first draft of the Agriculture bill. Dr. Paudel criticized the draft prepared by the Ministry, stating that it appeared to be more focused on the agricultural business promotion act rather than on an integrated agriculture act. He emphasized the need for all dimensions of agriculture to be taken into consideration while preparing the act. He expressed his concern that the proposed act failed to prioritize the smallholder farmers. He also stressed the importance of extensive discussions with stakeholders during the drafting process of the act.

Following the presentations, the floor was opened for the discussions. During the open discussion session, various viewpoints were expressed by the guests and participants. Here is a summary of the key viewpoints:

– In order to make the act more comprehensive and effective, there is still a need for significant discussions.

– There is an urgent need for the act to be implemented as soon as possible in order to address the challenges and opportunities in the agricultural sector effectively.

– There has been a lack of attention given to conservation in regards to the farmers group, women group, and forest group.

– Before the formulation of Agriculture act, there is a need to discuss effectively on issues of arable land.

– The purpose of the Agriculture Act should be to localize and empower farmers by prioritizing institutional and bureaucratic restructuring.

– Research institutes and university should actively engage in research initiatives, create knowledge, and provide evidence-based recommendations to foster progress in agriculture. Furthermore, these institutions should work collaboratively and take ownership of implementing policies, programs, and interventions aimed at addressing the challenges faced by farmers and promoting sustainable agricultural practices.

– The Agriculture Act should comprehensively address the important aspects of education, research, and dissemination within the agricultural sector.

– There is a need for coordination between the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Lands, Ministry of Irrigation, and the Ministry of Forestry and prepare the integrated act.

In a remarkable display of community spirit dedication towards Sustainable agriculture, representatives from alliance of agriculture, civil society and media organizations gathered on June 30, 2023, to celebrate 4th International Localization Day and 20th National Paddy Day at Kavresthali, Kathmandu. This event aimed to promote the age-old practice of rice transplantation, emphasizing its importance in ensuring the food security and financial stability of the agricultural community in Nepal, as well as its overall positive effects on the environment. The collective effort of all the stakeholders made this event a resounding success, creating awareness and inspiring a positive campaign.

Bestowed by the hazy day, the event commenced with an opening ceremony led by the agriculture experts, representatives from different organization and media outlets, along with local farmers, highlighting the importance and necessity to promote sustainable farming practices and provide support to local farmers. The event kicked off with informative session, where famers shared insights and knowledge techniques related to rice transplanting.  The session emphasized the ecological advantage productivity associated with this method. Following the session, participants eagerly ventured into nearby paddy fields to engage in hands-on experience. Guided by experienced farmers and experts, enthusiastic representatives’ donned traditional farming attire, rolled up their sleeves, and joined the local famers in the muddy fields. This active participation fostered collaboration and knowledge exchange among the attendees.

The media played a crucial role in amplifying the events impact with journalists from mainstream media documenting the activities and interviewing participants. Through their coverage, they aimed to raise awareness globally, showcasing the significance of traditional farming methods and the efforts made by different related organization, and local farmers in promoting sustainability. As the day drew to a close, local farmers and affiliated officials expressed their gratitude to all the attendees for their unwavering support in promoting sustainable agriculture in the region.

The National Rice Transplanting Day served as a remarkable example of the positive impact, by paving the way for promotion of strategic intervention and support while simultaneously honoring the rich cultural heritage of traditional rice cultivation.

 

Women around the world are disproportionately stressed by unpaid care work and the effects of shocks, especially in emerging and rural economies. However, much of the work being done to transition to a net-zero economy is frequently fragmented, biased against women, and does not take into account their specific needs and interests. The Gender Equality in a Low-Carbon World (GLOW) research programme was initiated by Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) in response to this pressing knowledge gap. GLOW funded 12 initiatives in 17 low- and middle-income nations to investigate into how to incorporate women’s economic empowerment into low-carbon, climate-resilient transitions. Nepal was successful in bagging the two out of twelve projects which are implemented by  ForestAction Nepal-, Economic Empowerment of Women through Forest Solutions  in Sindhupalchok and Nawalparasi district while  SIAS  implementing Co-production of Shock Resilient Business Ecosystems for Women Engaged Enterprises (CREW) in Ramechhap, Dolakha and Arghakhanchi districts.

In order to share emerging findings, reflections and learnings between two above mentioned IDRC funded projects in Nepal under (GLOW) program and to identify the areas for collaborative outputs and synergy building for a better enabling environment on women’s economic empowerment in natural resource management sector, ForestAction Nepal along with the SIAS Nepal and their consortium partners organized the joint meeting on 28 June 2023 in the presence of the Dr. Bhim Adhikari, Senior Program Specialist /Sustainable Inclusive Économies – IDRC Canada.

ForestAction Nepal’s consortium partners, HIMAWANTI Nepal, AFFON, and FenFIT, presented their perspectives on approaches and strategies adopted in the project, reflected the achievements, issues and opportunities on women empowerment using forest solutions. The session specifically focused on enterprise and entrepreneurship, socio-political empowerment, sustainable forest management, knowledge dissemination. The research ideas were shared on the impact of forest-based enterprises, challenges of adopting feminist approaches in the consortium, procedural and policy challenges and societal issues, and key learnings encountered during the project interventions.

Similarly, SIAS’ partners (NIMS College, ARIA Solutions, and Himalayan Bio Trade Limited (HBTL)) reflected on 18 months into the CREW Project: Interventions, Approaches, and Reflections in its 3 districts under themes like understanding barriers and constraints, enterprise development through technological and institutional innovations, capacity enhancement to amplify voices and agency, and knowledge dissemination and policy uptake.

The common issue identification and discussion for synergy building were moderated by Dr. Naya Sharma Poudel and Dr. Dil Bahadur Khatri. The majority of the discussions centered on community forest users committee dynamics, policy-level constraints, and the joint collaboration between the consortium might be groundbreaking; the need for meso-level government engagement; societal-level constraints, challenges, and barriers; reflections; open dialogue; Intersectionality within the feminist approach; integrating the productive economy and the care economy; all these for ensuring the sustainability of the forest and agri-best enterprises.

Dr. Bhim Adhikari concluded with the emphasis on the dire need for comprehensive research shifting sectoral policy into macroeconomic policy, deeper analysis of the contradictory policies that restrict the use of the resources on which they are heavily dependent, taking all these stories of learning and co-learning into the global context, exploring how people perceive the upgrading of technology in society, exploring the stories of more incorporation of the private sector, fair trade, branding, and labelling for the sustainability of enterprises—all these for ground-breaking outcomes. He emphasized that now onwards he would appreciate a common outcome of learning from both FAN and SIAS on the research reports. His words of encouragement and critical feedback have opened up the path for both projects to pave their way in a more inclusive, sustainable, and productive way, analyzing them through a feminist approach with an intersectional lens.

Jalthal, a 6100 hectare block of forest, is known for its rich biodiversity. The forest is remnant of once lush and continuous forest of lowland of Nepal. The forest is gradually degrading and its rich biodiversity is gradually eroding. Dillenia indica, a rare species in Nepal, demonstrates case of biodiversity erosion in the forest associated with development during last five decades.

Locally called as Paanchfal and Thaaidith   grows into a medium sized tree used to be a common species in Jalthal forest. Our detail forest survey shows that the  species is about to vanish from the forest. We have spotted only two individual trees and they are without seedlings and saplings. Standing trees are  degraded due to lopping. Locals have not seen its flower and fruits for last two decades. The tree is multipurpose with edible fruit. Fruits are eaten raw, picked and even used in traditional medicines. Twigs are used as fodder and woody parts as firewood.

Given its situation in the forest and to protect the valuable genepool in the wild, ForestAction Nepal joined Bishal Community Forest and Division Forest Office (DFO) Jhapa to protect the species’ last individuals in the forest. Protection of standing trees coupled with awareness among forest user and provision of alternative fodders are expected to conserve the species’ valuable genepool in the forest.

This demonstrates ForestAction Nepal’s Darwin Initiative project’s   ‘data informed conservation action’.

ForestAction Nepal, secretariat for Alliance of Agriculture for Food, organized 2 days interaction program (May 24-25, 2023) with the journalist, media personnel’s and farmers from Chitwan and Makawanpur districts respectively at Syangdi, Chitwan. The main objective of this event was to orient the journalists on the contemporary issues of food and agroecology and also to bridge the gap between the farmers and the journalists.

During the interaction, both farmers and media personnel shared their concern about the uncertain future of agriculture and its significant impact on the national food system. Farmers also criticized about the ineffective policies and programs that pose a serious threat to their livelihood. They expressed that it is essential to consistently exert pressure on the government and bureaucracy to prioritize and protect farmers’ agendas and issues at the national level.

Similarly, journalists committed to supporting farmers in addressing the pressing issues through their media writings and coverage. Furthermore, they also placed their appreciation on the inclusion of a comprehensive agricultural context as a priority in their reporting efforts.