Urban Agriculture and Poverty Allleviation A Case Study of Ichangunarayan VDC, Kathmandu Nepal

Abstract

Urban agriculture (UA) is the production and management of crops and livestock/poultry in the urban or periphery area, especially to meet local needs. This study was carried out to assess and analyze the UA and poverty alleviation in terms of urban food security and employment in Ichangunarayan, Kathmandu. This study had done based on the following objectives as;  To examine the contribution of agriculture in poverty alleviation in urban periphery of Kathmandu valley.  To analyze the attitudes of the urban people towards agricultural occupation.  To analyze the impact of urban agriculture on environment, health and nutrient supply to urban farmers.

Primary data and information were collected through sample survey applying random sampling technique, considering the households in three urban pockets- one road accessible pocket (ward no. 3), second one less accessible pocket with ward no. 2 settlement, and the last one isolated pocket (ward no 1), followed by observation and key informant discussions which includes total 64/64 household surveys and observations i.e. 20 in ward no 1, 24 in ward no. 2 and 20 in ward no.3 using structured questionnaire and observation sheet.

The study reveals that total 51.05%, 52.17% and 42.21% individuals of the farm families were involved in the agricultural occupation in ward no. 1, 2 and 3 respectively. The other sectors of employment and income in Ichangunarayan include service sector, trade/business, waged labor (specially construction works) and foreign employment (mainly in Quatar, Saudi Arab,m Malaysiya, Iraq). The analysis of farmers' responses to agriculture shows that agriculture was the means of full employment and income for 48.44% of the families surveyed; partial employment for 45.31%; additional income for more than 4.69%; and as the means to use spare time for only 1.56% families. χ2 test statistic shows that agricultural occupation pattern (%) in the three selected pockets was not significantly different, but the respondents' attitude with regard to agricultural occupation was significantly different, with higher reliance to agriculture in the inaccessible isolated areas than in accessible urban area. The patterns of nutrition supply to the urban farmers reveals that up to 75.38% food supply occurs by purchasing food from others, followed by consuming own product (up to 68.20%) and selling over surplus agro-food products (up to 33.33%). Urban agriculture is one of the major sources for reducing poverty in the study area. It is the main occupation of the majority and their way of life is mostly predominated by it. UA has been hampering the urban environment due to the excessive use of chemical fertilizer and unplanned cultivation. To get the more benefits from it and urban based poverty reduction, government and other related organizations should increase investment in inputs services such as improved seeds, quality fertilizer and skill oriented farm based trainings too the local farmers.