Papers by Jeetendra Prakash Aryal
Research Square (Research Square), May 23, 2023
Frontiers in sustainable food systems, May 10, 2023
Technology in Society, May 1, 2021
Abstract In the agricultural sector, labour shortage, and increase in wages resulting from out-mi... more Abstract In the agricultural sector, labour shortage, and increase in wages resulting from out-migration, and the necessity to employ sustainable intensification practices to minimise the use of inputs such as water, fertilizer, and energy, calls for investment in the mechanisation of small-scale farms in South Asia (SA). Therefore, this study investigates the mechanisation process undertaken in SA with a special reference to India, Nepal, and Bangladesh, where agriculture, an important source of rural livelihoods, is adversely affected by out-migration and the depletion of natural resources. This study finds that tractors (74%), pumps (72%), threshers (65%), harvesters (23%), and power tillers (16%) are the predominantly used farm machinery in SA. Farm mechanisation is most widespread in India, followed by Nepal and Bangladesh, though the types of machinery used vary across them. Multivariate probit model shows that male headship, access to credit and extension services, economic status, and training positively influence farm mechanisation. Hence, along with enhanced provision for credit and training, an agricultural policy that aims to improve access to farm machinery should target marginalised and poor farmers to sustain agricultural production and ensure food security.
Natural Resources Forum, Aug 1, 2022
The adverse impacts of climate change, in many cases, aggravate existing gender inequalities and ... more The adverse impacts of climate change, in many cases, aggravate existing gender inequalities and hinder developing countries from achieving the targets set by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is, therefore, crucial to understand whether there exists a gender gap in climate change adaptation and investigate the factors explaining the gap to reduce the vulnerability of the farming households to surging climatic risks. Using data from 2279 farm households in Ethiopia and applying a multivariate probit model and exogenous switching treatment effect regression method, this study examines the existing gender gap in climate change adaptations among farmers in Ethiopia and factors contributing to this relationship. The results show a significant gender gap in climate change adaptation in farming households due to the differences in both observable and unobservable characteristics of male‐ and female‐headed households. It indicates that reducing the gap can enhance climate change adaptation by female‐headed households by almost 19%. Women's workload in household chores significantly reduces their likelihood to adopt climate change adaptation measures. Therefore, unless policies proposed target institutional factors, including social and cultural barriers, traditional gender norms and division of labor, and other intrinsic behavioral issues, addressing only observed characteristics may not fully address the gender gap. To bring about transformational changes in the existing gender norms and social attitudes, long‐term gender‐informed policies are essential, along with short‐term projects, to address the gender gap in climate change adaptation through the provision of equitable opportunities for all.
Renewable Energy Focus, Apr 1, 2017
Energy ladder hypothesis states that with an increase in income and awareness households graduall... more Energy ladder hypothesis states that with an increase in income and awareness households gradually switch from biomass to kerosene and finally to ultra-clean, renewable, green energy sources such as electricity. Electricity lies at the top of the energy ladder hypothesis for household energy use. Empirical results support the fact that income, wealth, gender and the educational status of households often influence the switch from dirty to clean energy; however, in some cases, households even with higher incomes, wealth, and education levels use electricity only for lighting but not for both lighting and cooking. This creates a ladder within the energy ladder. Using a nationally representative dataset collected by the government for the Bhutan Living Standard Measurement Study (2003, 2007 and 2012), covering more than 22,000 households, this study examines the factors influencing the use of electricity for lighting, and lighting and cooking by Bhutanese households. The results of multinomial logit model estimation demonstrate that demographic features, wealth and the education levels of households, in addition to access to infrastructure significantly influence a household's use of electricity for lighting and cooking, which supports a ladder within the energy ladder hypothesis.
Environmental Management, May 9, 2020
Rural households in South Asia's coastal deltas face numerous livelihood challenges, including ri... more Rural households in South Asia's coastal deltas face numerous livelihood challenges, including risks posed by climatic variability and extreme weather events. This study examines major climate risks, farmers' adaptation strategies, and the factors affecting the choice of those strategies using data collected from 630 households in southwestern coastal Bangladesh. Farmers identified cyclones, excessive rain and flooding, and salinity as direct climate risks. Increased crop diseases/pests and livestock diseases were perceived as indirect risks resulting from climatic variability. Farmers used multiple adaptation strategies against those risks such as modifications in farm management, use of savings and borrowing funds from family and neighbors, and periodically reducing household food consumption. Off-farm employment and seeking assistance from governmental as well as non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were also common adaptation strategies. The results show that male-headed households are more likely to change farming practices and reduce consumption compared with femaleheaded households that conversely tended to take assistance from NGOs as an adaptation strategy. Ownership of land and livestock, as well as farmers' prior exposure to climate change and educational training, also had a significant effect on the choice of adaptation strategy. Therefore, development interventions and policies that aimed at improving resource endowment and training to farmers on climatic risks and their adaptation strategies can help minimize the impact of climatic risks. Keywords Gender • Climate change adaptation • Climate risks • Smallholder farmers • Multivariate probit model
Energy, Jun 1, 2015
Lack of access to clean, affordable and adequate energy and large scale use of solid fuels such a... more Lack of access to clean, affordable and adequate energy and large scale use of solid fuels such as firewood and cow dung cake is one of the reasons for a lower quality of life in developing countries. It is observed that majority of households in the world that uses solid fuels are located in south Asian countries. The objective of this paper is to examine the pattern of household energy uses, and identify and analyze the factors influencing household choices of energy, sources of fuelwood collection, and family members involved in fuelwood collection. The paper uses primary data collected from three Asian countries: India, Bangladesh and Nepal. A multivariate model is employed to analyze the data. Age, gender and education levels of a household head influence a household's choice of energy sources. Wealthy households are found to use clean energy sources such as liquid petroleum gas (LPG) and electricity, whereas poorer households tend to use solid fuels such as fuelwood and dung cake. Sources of fuelwood collection are largely influenced by a family's labor supply, education, and household wealth status. Females and children are employed by households for fuelwood collection. Nepal and Bangladesh engage mostly female members for fuelwood collection.
Social Science Research Network, 2023
Review of Development Economics, Nov 8, 2018
Using nationally representative data from Bhutan, and applying an exogenous switching treatment r... more Using nationally representative data from Bhutan, and applying an exogenous switching treatment regression model, this study assessed the food security status between male-headed households (MHHs) and female-headed households (FHHs). The study demonstrates that there is no significant difference between MHHs and FHHs in terms of food security, but when MHHs are compared with de jure FHHs, the food security is significantly lower among the de jure FHHs. The food security gap between MHHs and de jure FHHs is due to the differences in both observable and unobservable characteristics of the households. The food security gap between de facto and de jure FHHs can be explained by the influence of connections and wider access to off-farm income. Most of the previous studies consider all FHHs as a homogenous entity and ignore the concept of de jure FHHs (i.e., a household run by single, widowed, or divorced woman) and de facto FHHs (i.e., a household where there is a husband, but he is not physically present because of his work off-farm). As the present research takes this into account, the econometric findings from our study, thus have important implications in formulating special food security policies targeting the most vulnerable FHHs.
is a consultant at the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) in Tokyo, Japan. Dil Bahadur Rahut... more is a consultant at the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) in Tokyo, Japan. Dil Bahadur Rahut is a senior research fellow at ADBI. Hom Nath Gartaula is a gender and social inclusion specialist at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center in New Delhi, India. The views expressed in this paper are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of ADBI, ADB, its Board of Directors, or the governments they represent. ADBI does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this paper and accepts no responsibility for any consequences of their use. Terminology used may not necessarily be consistent with ADB official terms. Working papers are subject to formal revision and correction before they are finalized and considered published.
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, 2015
As Pakistan is currently facing a severe shortage of irrigation water, this paper analyzes the de... more As Pakistan is currently facing a severe shortage of irrigation water, this paper analyzes the determinants of water scarcity and its impact on the yield of cereal crops (wheat, maize and rice), household income, food security and poverty levels by employing the propensity-score-matching approach. This study is based on a comprehensive set of cross-sectional data collected from 950 farmers from all four major provinces in Pakistan. The empirical analysis indicated that farmers with a water-scarcity problem have lower yield and household income, and are food insecure. Poverty levels were higher: in the range of 7-12% for a household facing a water-scarcity problem. The policy implications of the study are that the public and private sector in Pakistan needs to invest in irrigation water management to maintain the productivity of cereal crops which is important for household food security and poverty reduction.
Current Science, Apr 10, 2016
Small landholders can implement a range of climatesmart agricultural (CSA) practices and technolo... more Small landholders can implement a range of climatesmart agricultural (CSA) practices and technologies, in order to minimize the adverse effects of climate change and variability, but their adoption largely depends on economic benefits associated with the practices. To demonstrate the potential economic benefits of CSA practices, we conducted a study with smallholder farmers in the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) of India. Among the CSA practices and technologies including use of improved crop varieties, laser land levelling, zero tillage, residue management, site specific nutrient management, and crop diversification, a majority of the farmers prefer to use improved crop varieties, crop diversification, laser land levelling and zero tillage practice. We estimated the cost of adoption, change in yields and income for the implementation of three major CSA practices in ricewheat system. The average cost of adoption were +1,402, +3,037 and-1,577 INR ha-1 for the use of improved crop varieties, laser land levelling and zero tillage respectively. Results show that farmers can increase net return of INR 15,712 ha-1 yr-1 with improved crop varieties, INR 8,119 ha-1 yr-1 with laser levelling and INR 6,951 ha-1 yr-1 with zero tillage in rice-wheat system. Results also show that the combination of improved seeds with zero tillage and laser land levelling technologies can further improve crop yields as well as net returns. The econometric analysis indicates that implementations of CSA practices and technologies in smallholder farms in the IGP of India, have significant impacts on change in total production costs and yield in rice-wheat system.
Climate change management, 2021
CIMMYT Research Data & Software Repository Network, Jul 28, 2020
Fertilizer, though one of the most essential inputs for increasing agricultural production, is a ... more Fertilizer, though one of the most essential inputs for increasing agricultural production, is a leading cause of nitrous oxide emissions from agriculture, contributing significantly to global warming. Therefore, understanding factors affecting farmers' use of fertilizers is crucial to develop strategies to improve its efficient use and to minimize its negative impacts. Using data from 2,558 households across the Indo-Gangetic Plains in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh, this study examines the factors affecting farmers' use of organic and inorganic fertilizers for the two most important cereal cropsrice and wheat. Together, these crops provide the bulk of calories consumed in the region. As nitrogen (N) fertilizer is the major source of global warming and other environmental effects, we also examine the factors contributing to its overuse. We applied multiple regression models to understand the factors influencing the use of inorganic fertilizer, Heckman models to understand the likelihood and intensity of manure use, and a probit model to examine the over-use of N fertilizer. Our results indicate that various socioeconomic and geographical factors influence the use of inorganic fertilizer in rice and wheat. Across the study sites, N fertilizer over-use is the highest in Haryana (India) and the lowest in Nepal. Across all locations farmers reported a decline in manure application, concomitant with a lack of awareness of the principles of appropriate fertilizer management that can limit environmental externalities. Educational programs highlighting measures to improving nutrient-use-efficiency and reducing the negative externalities of N fertilizer overuse are proposed to address these problems.
International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, Mar 17, 2023
Environment, Development and Sustainability
Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems
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Papers by Jeetendra Prakash Aryal