Development Protected Cultivation in Horticulture Product: Feasibility Analysis in West Java Province

The development of agricultural system cannot be solved only through technological changes  but also necessary to change the strategy of agricultural system as a whole. The aim of this research was to assess the factor of  strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis that can be used to identify relevant economic, ecological and societal (EES) issues for the assessment of sustainable development in protected cultivation in West Java Province. The potential of protected cultivation was higher energy productivity than open field production, indirect energy and renewable energy were the main source of energy. The ratio of output to input energy was higher in greenhouse production (0.85, 0.45 and 0.49) than open field (OF) vegetable production (0.52, 0.175 and 0.186) for tomato, and chili. Financial analysis revealed higher mean net returns from greenhouse vegetable production as 7043 $/ha (922-15,299$/ha) when compared to 563 $/ha (43-1,172$/ha) from open field vegetable production. Among the greenhouse vegetables, tomato cultivation was the most profitable in terms of energy efficiency and financial productivity. Generally, reducing pest and disease in vegetable production is a main expectation from newly adopted technology. Limited land holding size of agricultural fields, high capital investment and lack of infrastructure were the constraints in improving their production through new technology. Low price of the product and lack of adequate market were also the other problems with vegetable production. Inadequate government support in term of training and financial support to farmers in certain areas make it difficult in protected cultivation technology. Capacity building of farmers, research and development on protected cultivation, manufacturing and financial sector support, supporting an efficient and adequate marketing system of protected cultivation product, and development of an agribusiness area especially for export commodities are the strategies suggested to develop and improve technology in cultivation toward sustainable agriculture

The Impact of Community Context on Land Use in an Agricultural Society

As an initial step toward new models of the population-environment relationship, this paper explores the relationship between community context and local land use in an agricultural setting. In this type of setting, we argue that aspects of the community context, such as schools and transportation infrastructure, impact important environmental characteristics, such as land use. We provide hypotheses which explain the mechanisms producing these effects. We then use data from a study of 132 communities in rural Nepal to test our hypotheses. These analyses show that community characteristics are strongly associated with land use in this agricultural setting. The results point toward changes in communities as critical determinants of environmental quality. These findings are consistent with the notion that changes in community contexts may also condition the population-environment relationship.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/43495/1/11111_2004_Article_414497.pd

Analysis of National Forest Programs for REDD+ Implementation in six South and Southeast Asia countries

Aim of study: To facilitate REDD+ implementation and identify relevant attributes for robust REDD+ policies, this study evaluated and synthesized information from national forest programs in South and Southeast Asian countries.Area of study: Data was collected from six countries: Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Philippines, India and Thailand.Methods: The data sources for the evaluation was an in-depth desk review of relevant documents and focus group discussion among experts from each study country.  Main Results: We found out that diverse factors may influence program feasibility and the ability to achieve ‘triple benefits’: the nature of the forest targeted by the policy, the characteristics of the population affected by the policy, attributes of the policy instrument and the different actors involved.Research highlights: We argue that national policies and programs targeted for REDD+ implementation should focus on the identified features to achieve REDD+ goals.Keywords: policy evaluation; policy instruments; triple benefits; Southeast Asia

Nepalese non-timber forest products: an analysis of the equitability of profit distribution across a supply chain to India

The collection and sale of non-timber forest products is a major source of livelihood in some regions of Nepal. The research reported in this paper compares the resource rent or contribution margin of collectors, village traders, Nepali wholesalers and Indian traders for two highly traded non-timber forest products of Nepal, namely asparagus and lichen. The causes of inequitable margins are investigated, and measures for increasing equity within the supply chain are identified. The research revealed that the margin of asparagus collectors was higher than for the lichen collectors, as lichen was subjected to the high transaction costs of illegal exports. Furthermore, collectors who stayed overnight in the forest during the collection period (overnight-stayers) to reduce travelling time had a higher margin than those who went home every day after collection (non-overnight-stayers). In four distinct trading chains analysed, Nepali wholesalers and Indian traders captured most of the resource rent. The difference in collection costs between overnight-stayers and non-overnight-stayers does not affect the margin of other stakeholders in the value chain. It was hypothesised that the inequity is exacerbated by a low level of understanding of marketing among collectors, and this is confirmed by survey results. It is argued that the margin of collectors could be increased by providing training, technical support, market and price information, and other forms of institutional support

Vegetables production and marketing: practice and perception of vegetable seed producers and fresh growers in Nepal

Abstract Background Seed sector in Nepal has high comparative advantage, and the Government of Nepal has also emphasized to develop and strengthen seed supply system in Nepal. However, it has been facing different types of limitations and risks at different levels of the vegetable seeds system in Nepal. Therefore, this paper analyzes overall existing vegetable seeds production environment, its marketing practice and perception of seed producers and users in Nepal. Methods Using simple random sampling technique, a total of 275 seed producers and seed users were selected for the study purpose from four districts. Among them, 175 seed producers were from Rukum and Kavre; 100 seed users were from Rupandehi and Palpa. In addition, 75 seed companies/agro-vets/cooperatives/traders/service providers were selected purposely from all study districts. Indexing techniques, Chi-square test and willingness to pay using direct survey method were used to analyze the data. Results It was estimated that on average about 10–20% losses were observed in vegetable seeds from farm to wholesale due to poor drying, management and storage practices. The unfavorable environment immediately after harvesting and need to dry several times were ranked as first drying and storage problems, respectively. From the analysis, it was found that selection criteria for hybrid and open-pollinated were found significantly different among fresh vegetable growers. The reasons for choosing hybrids were due to their higher production, attractive fruits and more profit. The study reveals the mismatch between seed production and variety demanded by the fresh growers. Moreover, results on tendency of farmers to change preferred varieties and their willingness to pay additional price for high-quality vegetable seeds indicate the market potential for expansion of quality seed in the future. Conclusion It seems that the promotion of new post-harvest technologies to maintain dry chain throughout the vegetable seeds system that can provide higher return to the farmers would be easily accepted by the respondents. Therefore, the advantage of microclimatic diversity in hilly areas of Nepal and the seed grower’s willingness to maintain good-quality seeds can be utilized to produce huge amount of seeds for the fulfillment of national demand in the plain areas as well as export, especially in SAARC countries

Policy needs in harvesting and marketing of non-timber forest products in Nepal

The task of marketing non-timber forest products (NTFP) has been one of the major challenges to NTFP collectors in Nepal and elsewhere. Owing to their ignorance about the prevailing market prices, the inaccessible terrains and inefficient marketing policies, the collectors are forced to dispose their products to local traders at low prices. The outcome of this is an increased rate of extraction of NTFP resources due to low profit margins received by the collectors. Therefore, to frame policies for increased returns to collectors, it is imperative to analyse the current harvesting and marketing status of NTFP. In this regard, two extensively traded species (asparagus and lichens) were chosen for the study. A series of discussions were conducted with forest officers, village traders and wholesalers, and members of four Village Development Committees (VDCs). The current methods of extraction for both the species were found to be detrimental to their regeneration. While asparagus is processed to some extent by the collectors, lichen is marketed in its raw form. There are many marketing irregularities for lichens which is banned for export in its raw form. Profit margins are similar for overnight collectors and daily collectors of asparagus. However, daily collectors of lichens seem to suffer from losses in the trading process. A high degree of ambiguity exists in the trade of products in terms of NTFP nomenclature and government royalties. The awareness survey shows that the collectors are poorly informed about marketing, regulatory policies and technical aspects of NTFP. In the light of these observations, a few policy recommendations have been highlighted