Nepal

There are two significantly different approaches to farming in Nepal – both of which come with problems. Intensive commercial farming in areas close to the cities is the most dominant and the use of chemical fertilisers and unsustainable farming practices are degrading soil at a rapid rate. Diesel fuelled machinery for irrigation and processing is equally damaging to the environment

In more remote rural areas, more traditional subsistence farming in the difficult terrain is backbreaking and seldom profitable. This has led to an exodus of male farmers to cities and nearby countries in search of work. Indeed, 30% of Nepal’s GDP comes in the form of money sent home by workers living abroad. This puts added strain on the lives of women who are left to work the land alone.

In the coming years, our work will aim to improve the livelihoods of 400,000 smallholder farmers, 60% of them being women. This will be achieved through a combination of environmentally sustainable farming approaches, better access to renewable energy for agricultural use, climate information services and better business linkages.

Through our broader influencing and advisory work, we aim to help even more people change their world. This will include advising government bodies on making agriculture policies and assistance more sustainable and demonstrating to private sector business that agro-ecological farming approaches can be profitable as well as planet-friendly.

Crucial elements in building resilience are education, information and contingency planning. Practical Action will work with communities to discuss their exposure to risk and how this could be mitigated. Helping them to create plans to minimise loss and damage due to disasters will also be addressed. Equally important is the presence of good early warning systems, monitor river water levels and weather to give good advanced warning, usually delivered by text messages through mobile phone service providers.

New government policies are being developed, presenting us with opportunities to make our learnings part of national and local frameworks and accepted best practice in community development work. This will significantly improve upon previous policy approaches that focused on post-disaster recovery.

The proportion of people in remote areas without access to electricity is even higher, as it is often impractical to connect people to the national power grid. Off-grid generation, mostly by private companies, has been limited due to a lack of government subsidies or incentives – and where it has been attempted, it has often failed due to unworkable business models.

Through our work in the coming years, an additional 375,000 people will gain access to electricity from renewable sources. Our influence, advisory and consulting efforts will have a much greater indirect impact. We will advise and inform regional and national energy planning decision makers and work with private companies to help them build sustainable business models for energy generation and distribution. And we will work with communities to help them maximise the income benefits of energy access through skills training and business planning.