This document discusses youth and agriculture in Nepal. It notes that Nepal has a large young population but high unemployment and underemployment rates among youth. Agriculture in Nepal is currently small-scale, traditional and subsistence-based, but has lost competitiveness. The document argues that engaging youth is key to transforming agriculture and ensuring future food security through more sustainable practices like changing diets, demand-based production, leasehold farming, product diversification, conserving local seeds, and sustainable crop management. These approaches could provide opportunity and income for unemployed youth.

1. A movement by youth, for youth, for
agricultural development

2. •
•Presenter
•Dinesh Panday
•Nepal representative
•E-mail: ypardnepal@gmail.com
Graduates’ Workshop on Green Economy, 28
July, Nepal
Prospective of Nepalese Youth on Future of
Food

3. Overview
Nepal: Land locked, mountainous and least developed
• 26.6 million population, CIA World Factbook 2013
• 13th poorest country in the world
• Economy: natural resources (Distribution and Use: Uneven)
• Rich in biodiversity; rich in young population i.e. up to 40 %

4. Youth: Overview
Unemployment rates are highest among people just out of
college
• 38.8 % of the population are either unemployed or
underemployed
• 15-29 years young people: 6.131 million people (26.2 % of
total population of which 11.4 % are out of work)
• Annually 3.5 -4 hundred thousand people enter into job
market, but only < 10 % absorbed in national market

5. Situation
Agriculture: small holder, traditional and subsistence farming
• Lost of its competitive edge: Food Security?
• Climate change and its impact: severe weather events
• Traditional agriculture has no attraction to the young people
as well as it is not adapting in new changing socio-economic
and changed climatic scenario

6. Cause
Hunger, poverty and under-lying nutrition
• Low agricultural productivity
• Limited livelihood opportunities
• Inadequate production and consumption of nutritious,
locally available foods
• Poor infrastructures
• Government’s inadequate resources

7. Food Security: Scenario
 3 global parameters: 79/105 countries, GFSI 2012
 34 districts food deficit, MoAD 2013
 2/3 suffers from food insecurity each year
 Currently 3.7 million people are food insecure
 People from rural and remote areas are dependent on
external/emergency food supply
 The continued food insecurity and lack of employment
opportunities= out migration of youth

8. Food Security: No. of policies
 Agriculture Prospective Plan 1995
 National Agricultural Policy 2004
 Agribusiness Promotion Policy 2007
 10th five year plan; 11st three year plan
 National Agriculture Sector Development Priority Plan
2011-2015
 Country Investment Plan
 Agriculture Development Strategy 2015-2035 (Upcoming)

9. Youth Prospective
 Young people are future and future generations of farmers
 Young are adept at spreading new habit, raising awareness
and advocates for change
Advocacy on
i. Climate Justice
ii. Equity
iii. Sustainability
Major challenges
1. Reorganization/ trust
2. Opportunity
3. Finance
 To meet present growing population and future projected
population; food security= sustainable agriculture practices

10. Sustainable Agriculture Practices
which could include YOUTH as well as adaptation on climate
change in agriculture securing food for present and future
• Change in food habit
• Demand based produce
• Lease hold farming
• Product diversification
• Germplasm
• Sustainable crop management practices

11. 1. Change in Food habit
• Rice as major food
• Traditional local food Vs readymade snacks
• Feeling of deprived
• Awareness on food diversification
• Well processing technologies-
• Minor and locally available- nutritious
• Raising awareness and engaging agri-production

12. 2. Demand based Produce
• Several pocket areas
• High demands and more profitable
• Marketing available
• Selling or exchange of product
• Food security better
• Increase IGF and youth engagement in
agriculture

13. 3. Lease hold Farming
• Land Use Classification
• Land degradation and Pollution
• Sustainable Soil Management practices
• Commercial agriculture which creates
employment to the unemployed youth

14. 4. Product diversification
• Increase farmer’s income
• Larger environmental footprint > less processed food
• Greater environmental impacts
• Technology and Volume of production
• Varieties within farming and food related activities
• Well marketing system; high returns to farmers

15. 5. Germplasm
• Farmer’s preference to the hybrid seeds
• Open border, quarantine and phyto-sanitary measures
• Increased problems
• Farmer to farmer networks
• Local varieties can re-colonize (van Dusen 2003)
• Youth should conserve germplasm as an
alternative

16. 6. Sustainable Crop Management
practices
• Crop productivity
• How crop will response to simultaneous change?
• Crop diversification
• To increase crop portfolio
• Introducing great range of varieties
• ↑/↕ income; ↑ natural biodiversity
• Producers with alternative means for income

17. Thank You!
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