Land, Agriculture and Agrarian Transformation Edited by Kailash N Pyakuryal, PhD Bishnu Raj Upreti, PhD Publisher Consortium for Land Research and Policy Dialogue (COLARP) Citation: Pyakuryal KN, Upreti BR, editors. 2011. Land, Agriculture and Agrarian Transformation. Kathmandu: Consortium for Land Research and Policy Dialogue (COLARP). Copyright© 2011 in COLARP. All rights reserved. Published by: Consortium for Land Research and Policy Dialogue (COLARP) ISBN: 978-9937-2-3007-0 Subsidised price: NRs. 400/- (hardback) NRs. 200/- (paperback) Cover design/layout: Jyoti Khatiwada Printed at: Heidel Press Pvt. Ltd., Dillibazaar, Kathmandu Cover photo: Siddhi Manandhar and Shristee Singh Shrestha Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this book are entirely of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the official views of the organisations with which the editors are affiliated. This book is dedicated to: Millions of rural people who nurture the nation but have remained themselves unattended and discriminated against. The editors of the book Land, Agriculture and Agrarian Transformation acknowledge support from the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) North-South, co-funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the participating institutions. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Rural life in contemporary Nepal is more complex than it is described by some scholars on primary relationships and cooperation. The land based feudal structure backed by the rulers and elites kept nurturing discrimination, class exploitation and exclusion of the majority of the deprived and powerless people who generally lived in the rural setting. Millions of such small, near landless and landless farmers are poor, ill nourished and lack a respectable social and economic status but have kept the rest of the Nepalese alive by working hard in the fields and producing food for them. Very few persons who controlled most of the resources and occupied power positions have blocked alteration in the existing unequal agrarian relations. This book attempts to bring such issues to the public. Intellectual works from a wide range of social science disciplines would hopefully contribute to a meaningful alteration in the agrarian relation. This book thus aims at helping the policymakers better understand the issues related to agrarian transformation. Several likeminded individuals have contributed to this attempt by submitting chapters for the book. We owe a deep sense of gratitude to all of them. We sincerely acknowledge the editorial assistance of Devendra P. Chapagain. We acknowledge the help received from Siddhi Manandhar, Regional Officer, for providing photographs and logistic support and also from Safal Ghimire, Research Officer, NCCR North-South South Asia Coordination Office for helping us formatting the book. Assistance of Shristee Singh, Project Officer, COLARP, is duly acknowledged. She worked untiringly in the preparatory phase of the book and maintained constant communication with the authors. We would like to sincerely thank the management committee of the Swiss National Centre for Competence in Research (NCCR) North-South and the NCCR North-South South Asia Coordination Office for their unconditional support and encouragement in getting the book published. Editors January, 2011  Acronyms and abbreviations ADB Asian Development Bank AIDS Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome ANPA All Nepal Peasant Association AoA Agreement on Agriculture APP Agriculture Perspective Plan B.Sc. Agriculture Bachelor of Science in Agriculture B.V. Sc. & A.H. Bachelor of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry BAP Bisheshwar Among the Poor BoP Balance of Payment BS Bikram Sambat CA Constituent Assembly CBD Convention on Biological Diversity CBS Central Bureau of Statistics CEAPRED Centre for Environmental and Agricultural Policy Research, Extension and Development CEDAW Convention on Elimination of all Forms of Violence Against Women CIP Country Investment Plan COLARP Consortium for Land Research and Policy Dialogue CPI Consumer’s Price Index CPN UML Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) CRC Convention on the Rights of the Child CSRC Community Self-Reliance Centre CTEVT Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training DARAB Department of Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board DDC District Development Committee DFID Department for International Development DFRS Department of Forest Research and Survey  DLS Department of Livestock Services DoA Department of Agriculture EU European Union FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FEER Far Eastern Economic Review FFS Farmer Field School FORWARD Forum for Rural Welfare and Agricultural Reform for Development GDP Gross Domestic Product GEFONT General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions GoN Government of Nepal GVA Gross Value Added Ha Hectare HDR Human Development Report HICAST Himalayan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus HLSLRC High Level Scientific Land Reform Commission HLRC Human Rights Law Centre HNRSC Human and Natural Resource Study Centre IAAS Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science ICESCR International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights IFPRI International Food Policy Research Institute IIDS Institute for Integrated Development Studies ILO International Labour Organisation INSEC Informal Sector Service Centre IPM Integrated Pest Management IPR Intellectual Property Right IRDP Integrated Rural Development Project ITPGRFA International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture JT/JTA Junior Technician/Junior Technical Assistant LDC Least Developed Country LIBIRD Local Initiatives for Biodiversity, Research and Development  LRA Land Rights Activists LWM Landless Workers Movement M. Sc. Agriculture Master of Science in Agriculture M/TNC Multinational/Transnational Corporations MDG Millennium Development Goal MLAR Market-led Agrarian Reform MNC Multinational Corporations MoAC Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives MoF Ministry of Finance MT Metric Ton NALAR National Alliance for Land and Agrarian Reform NARC Nepal Agricultural Research Council NARDF National Agricultural Research and Development Fund NARSC National Agricultural Research and Service Centre NAST National Academy of Science and Technology NC Nepali Congress NCCR Swiss National Centre for Competence in Research NFIDC Net Food Importing Developing Countries NGO Non Governmental Organisation NIDS Nepal Institute of Development Studies NLRCG National Land Rights Concern Group NLRF National Land Rights Forum NLRGG National Rights Concern Group NLSS Nepal Living Standards Survey NPC National Planning Commission NRs Nepali Rupees ODA Overseas Development Assistance OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development PAF Poverty Alleviation Fund PCRW Production Credit for Rural Women PhD Doctor of Philosophy PPP Prioritised Productivity Package PRSP Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper v SAP Structural Adjustment Programme SLAR State-led Agrarian Reform SMS Subject Matter Specialist SPS Sanitary an Phyto-Sanitary agreement TBT Technical Barriers to Trade TDC Tea Development Corporation U-CPNM Unified-Communist Party of Nepal, Maoist UNDHR United Nations Universal Declaration on Human Rights UNDP United Nation Development Programme US The United States USAID United States Agency for International Development VA Value Added VDC Village Development Committee WB World Bank WDP Women’s Development Programme WFS World Food Summit WTO World Trade Organisation v