Micro-credit programs and land distribution: a note

&quot;Micro-credit&quot; has come to refer to a popular extension strategy---usually in the agricultural sector---whereby a government or NGO extends credit at favorable rates to poorer borrowers, with repayment being supported by some kind of mortgage on the borrower\u27s social capital. In the commonest case, eligibility is determined by the borrower\u27s wealth, as indexed by his/her landholding. This note shows that, with an imperfect land market, the response to such a program will be to fragment landholdings which are smaller than a certain threshold, while larger holdings remain unaffected. Thus the pattern of landholding will tend to become more polarized.<br /

Assessment of Productivity, Profit, and Problems Associated with Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Production in West Nawalparasi, Nepal

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), a staple crop in Nepal, has a rich history of cultivation. Despite increasing demand due to population growth and agricultural development efforts, wheat production faces persistent challenges that hinder its expansion and profitability. This research, conducted from February to July 2022 in West Nawalpur district, Nepal, aims to assess the productivity, profitability, and economics, including benefit-cost analysis, of wheat in West Nawalparasi. A total of 100 wheat farmers were selected and the data obtained were analyzed using Microsoft Excel and Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The study reveals a positive gross margin (NRs 1113.09) and a benefit-cost ratio (BCR) of 1.6 per 0.3 hectare, indicating the profitability of wheat cultivation. Notably, most farmers procure agricultural inputs such as seeds and fertilizers from local agro-dealers within Nepal, highlighting a preference for domestic sources over imports from India. For irrigation, more than half of the population relies on pumps that draw from open water sources (59%) and use mechanization equipment such as tractors and combine harvesters for field activities. However, the study reveals the complexity of the challenges faced by wheat farmers. Chief among these are the unavailability of adequate irrigation facilities, untimely and inadequate access to agricultural inputs, disease and pest incidence, lack of training and extension services, and lack of mechanization and skilled labor. These constraints, as highlighted by the farmers, affect both productivity and profitability, highlighting the urgent need for initiatives to reduce production costs and improve wheat production in West Nawalparasi

Efficacy of bio-fertilizers and chemical fertilizers on growth and yield of cowpea varieties

Cowpea is valued for its nutrition and nitrogen-fixing ability, and investigating bio-fertilizers offers a sustainable way to enhance cowpea growth and yield. A field experiment was conducted from February to June 2022 in the Nawalparasi West, Nepal, to investigate the impact of different fertilizers, including bio-fertilizers and chemical fertilizers, on the growth parameters and yield of cowpea varieties. Employing a double factorial Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD), the experiment considered two factors: cowpea varieties (Malepatan-1 and Stickless) and fertilizers (control, mycorrhizal, rhizobia, recommended dose of chemical fertilizer (RDF), mycorrhizal + rhizobia, and mycorrhiza + rhizobium + RDF). Malepatan-1 exhibited superior growth and yield compared to Stickless, with higher plant height (125.73 cm), seed weight plant−1 (72.29 g), thousand grain weight (151.62 g), and yield ha−1 (3,536.83 kg ha−1). While the application of rhizobia + mycorrhiza and chemical fertilizers increased various growth parameters, mycorrhiza + rhizobium showed comparable results in terms of yield (4,321.41 kg ha−1) and thousand grain weight (167.19 g) compared to the combination of the former (4,714.26 kg ha−1 and 176.83 g, respectively). Moreover, mycorrhiza + rhizobium demonstrated a higher benefit-cost ratio (3.76), making it economically and environmentally preferable to biofertilizers with chemicals. The study recommends mycorrhiza + rhizobium for its comparable yield, superior economic returns, and environmental sustainability over biofertilizers combined with chemicals. For maximizing economic and sustainable production, the study suggests using the Malepatan-1 cowpea variety with biofertilizers, excluding chemical (inorganic) fertilizers

Development and testing the feasibility of a sports-based mental health promotion intervention in Nepal: a protocol for a pilot cluster-randomised controlled trial

Background: Mental wellbeing encompasses life satisfaction, social connectedness, agency and resilience. In adolescence, mental wellbeing reduces sexual health risk behaviours, substance use and violence; improves educational outcomes; and protects mental health in adulthood. Mental health promotion seeks to improve mental wellbeing and can include activities to engage participants in sport. However, few high-quality trials of mental health promotion interventions have been conducted with adolescents, especially in low- and middle-income countries. We sought to address this gap by testing SMART (Sports-based Mental heAlth pRomotion for adolescenTs) in a pilot cluster-randomised controlled trial (cRCT) in Bardiya, Nepal. // Methods: The objectives of the trial are to assess the acceptability and feasibility of SMART, test trial procedures, explore outcome distributions in intervention and control clusters and calculate the total annual cost of the intervention and unit cost per adolescent. The trial design is a parallel-group, two-arm superiority pilot cRCT with a 1:1 allocation ratio and two cross-sectional census surveys with adolescents aged 12–19, one pre-intervention (baseline) and one post-intervention (endline). The study area is four communities of approximately 1000 population (166 adolescents per community). Each community represents one cluster. SMART comprises twice weekly football, martial arts and dance coaching, open to all adolescents in the community, led by local sports coaches who have received psychosocial training. Sports melas (festivals) and theatre performances will raise community awareness about SMART, mental health and the benefits of sport. Adolescents in control clusters will participate in sport as usual. In baseline and endline surveys, we will measure mental wellbeing, self-esteem, self-efficacy, emotion regulation, social support, depression, anxiety and functional impairment. Using observation checklists, unstructured observation and attendance registers from coaching sessions, and minutes of meetings between coaches and supervisors, we will assess intervention fidelity, exposure and reach. In focus group discussions and interviews with coaches, teachers, caregivers and adolescents, we will explore intervention acceptability and mechanisms of change. Intervention costs will be captured from monthly project accounts, timesheets and discussions with staff members. // Discussion: Findings will identify elements of the intervention and trial procedures requiring revision prior to a full cRCT to evaluate the effectiveness of SMART

Partners in crime : collusive corruption and search

This paper analyzes corruption as a collusive act which requires the participation of two willing partners. An agent intending to engage in a corrupt act must search for a like-minded partner. When many people in the economy are corrupt, such a search is more likely to be fruitful. Thus when an agent engages in a search, he raises the net benefit of searching for other similar agents in the economy, creating an externality. This introduces a non-convexity in the model, which consequently has multiple equilibria. The economy can be in stable equilibrium with a high or low level of corruption.Starting from the high-corruption equilibrium, a sufficient increase in vigilance triggers a negative cascade, leading the economy to a new equilibrium in which no agent finds it profitable to search for corrupt partners. The no-corruption equilibrium continues to be stable if vigilance is then relaxed. This suggests that the correct way to deal with corruption is to launch a ``big push\u27\u27 with large amounts of resources. Once the level of corruption declines, these resources can be withdrawn.<br /

Partners in Crime: Collusive Corruption and Search

This paper analyzes corruption as a collusive act which requires the participation of two willing partners. An agent intending to engage in a corrupt act must search for a like-minded partner. When many people in the economy are corrupt, such a search is more likely to be fruitful. Thus when an agent engages in a search, he raises the net benefit of searching for other similar agents in the economy, creating an externality. This introduces a non-convexity in the model, which consequently has multiple equilibria. The economy can be in stable equilibrium with a high or low level of corruption.Starting from the high-corruption equilibrium, a sufficient increase in vigilance triggers a negative cascade, leading the economy to a new equilibrium in which no agent finds it profitable to search for corrupt partners. The no-corruption equilibrium continues to be stable if vigilance is then relaxed. This suggests that the correct way to deal with corruption is to launch a ``big push'' with large amounts of resources. Once the level of corruption declines, these resources can be withdrawn.

An assessment of Diploknema butyracea (Roxb.) H. J. Lam (Chiuri) utilization in Chepang community Chitwan district, Nepal

Chiuri (Diploknema butyracea) is a medium-sized tree indigenous to Nepal and integral to the Chepang ethnic group. The utilization of Chiuri has experienced a decline, leading to a perceptible gap between agricultural practitioners and entrepreneurial endeavors within the Chepang community. This study, conducted from January to July 2023 in the Rapti municipality of the Chitwan district, Nepal, aims to document both traditional and contemporary applications of Chiuri in the Chepang community, evaluating its market presence, economic contributions, and cultural practices. The research involved household surveys and six key informant interviews, employing structured and semi-structured questionnaires for primary data collection. The collected data underwent meticulous analysis using MS-Excel and statistical tools. Traditionally, the Chepang community employed Chiuri for diverse purposes, including the extraction of Chiuri butter, utilization of flower juice, leaf plate fabrication, liso production, and oilcake processing. However, contemporary practices have witnessed a transition towards packaged oil, various juice derivatives, and fertilizer. Historically, Chiuri butter held paramount importance as the primary source of income for the Chepang community, supplemented by revenue generated from honey, oilcake, leaf plate crafting, alcohol juice production, and liso manufacturing. Over the past two decades, a marked decline is evident, with only 36% of the population currently engaged in processing and selling Chiuri products, compared to 85% in the past. Market transactions predominantly occur in Lothar Bazaar, trailed by Bhandara and local markets, where Chiuri butter, honey, and seeds are the primary commodities. Beekeeping, honey production and butter have emerged as the predominant sources of income. Historically vital for the economic and social well-being of the Chepang community, Chiuri has seen a decline in traditional practices such as Chepuwa (Khalang) oil extraction and a diminishing prevalence of the dowry system. Adopting cost-effective treatment technology is crucial to replace traditional methods and ensure sustainable Chiuri product production

Discovering effective tutorial strategies in human tutorial sessions

We analyze in this paper dialogue based tutorial interactions between human tutors and tutees to understand what distinguishes effective tutorial sessions from non-effective tutorial sessions. In other words, we investigate what effective human tutors do differently from less effective tutors. Towards this end, we characterize and explore human tutors\u27 actions in tutorial sessions by mapping the dialogue based interactions, which are streams of utterances, into streams of actions, based on the language-as-action theory. Next, we use human expert judgment measures, evidence of learning (EL) and evidence of soundness (ES), to identify effective and ineffective sessions. We finally perform a number of tutorial analyses using various methods such as profile comparison, sequence logo analysis and discriminant sub-sequence analysis to present several interesting patterns