Promotion of small-scale pond aquaculture in Chitwan valley, Nepal.

The Chitwan valley, situated in the inner Terai, Nepal, is endowed with a favourable sub-tropical monsoonal climate, rich soil and abundant forest resources. The livelihoods of half of the population of Chitwan depend on farming. The average size of farm holdings is small (about 0.6 ha) with the agricultural system characterized by an integration of crop and livestock sub-systems. Recognizing the possible role of small-scale aquaculture in poverty alleviation in Nepal, the project "Women in Aquaculture in Nepal" is aimed at the introduction and development of backyard pond aquaculture. It has been working with small-scale farming households of the traditional fishing communities of the Darai and Tharu in the Chitwan valley. The project has successfully demonstrated the role of backyard pond aquaculture in diversifying the farming systems of traditional fishing communities in Chitwan valley. Whilst farmers operated low-input aquaculture systems, there is scope for significantly increasing fish production through intensification.

Aquaculture for an ethnic minority in the Terai of Nepal.

The Chitwan valley situated in the inner Terai, Nepal, is endowed with a favourable sub-tropical monsoonal climate, rich soil and abundant forest resources. Livelihoods of half of the population in Chitwan depend on farming. The average size of farm holdings is small (about 0.6 ha) with the agricultural system characterized by an integration of crop and livestock sub-systems. Recognizing the possible role of small-scale aquaculture in poverty alleviation in Nepal, the project "Women in Aquaculture in Nepal" aimed at the introduction and development of backyard pond aquaculture. It has been working with small-scale farming households of the traditional fishing communities of the Darai and Tharu in the Chitwan valley. The project has successfully demonstrated the role of backyard pond aquaculture to diversify the farming systems of traditional fishing communities in the Chitwan valley. Whilst farmers operated low-input aquaculture systems, there is scope for significantly increasing fish production through intensification.

The Gendered Relationship between Parental Religiousness and Children’s Marriage Timing

In this article, we examine whether mother’s and father’s self-reported religiousness relates differently to the timing of their children’s marriages. Conceptualizing religion as one source of cultural schema about marriage that is likely to conflict with other schemas for living, and theorizing that women are more likely to experience structured ambivalence over religious schema and their enactment than men, we predict father’s religiousness will be associated with children’s marriage in accordance with religious dogma, whereas the experience of structured ambivalence yields a more complex relationship between mother’s religiousness and their children’s marriage. Using longitudinal data from the Chitwan Valley Family Study in Nepal, a primarily Hindu and Buddhist setting, we find contrasting associations between son’s marriage timing and mothers’ and fathers’ religiousness. This provides empirical support for theoretical frameworks that emphasize the gendered nature of religious identity and suggests the influence of religion on other aspects of life is gendered.

Rural Households' Allocation of Remittance Income in Agriculture in Nepal

This paper examines the uses of remittances in various household activities by remittance-receiving households in rural Nepal. Specifically, this paper focuses on the allocation of (a) remittances in agriculture and other dimensions of household activities, and (b) whether there is any association between the amount of remittances received and the amount allocated by households to agriculture and other dimensions. This study utilizes the detailed household level data (n=139 remittance-receiving households) collected from the Chitwan Valley in 2014, a rural migrant-sending setting of southern Nepal that collected remittances received by households and remittance used in various household activities with monthly precision in the past 12 months. Using the multilevel multivariate OLS regression, the results showed that of the total amount of remittances used, farming (e.g. purchase of seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides) received only about 3.1 percent. In contrast, a large proportion of remittance was used in buying fixed assets such as land, houses, and jewelry (27.1%), followed by food and vegetables (15.3%), savings and business investment (12.3%), loan payment (11.0%), education, (11.2%), and health (4.1%). Adjusted results from multivariate analysis (multilevel OLS) showed that the amount of remittances received by households was not significantly associated with its use in farming. However, the amount of remittances received was positively associated with the amount used in buying fixed assets, media (electronic) items, clothing, covering cultural expenses, paying utilities, and repaying debt. Implications from the findings are presented.

Perception of Environmental Change Relationship to Labor Migration in the Chitwan Valley

This research examines environmental change, in terms of agriculture production, influence on outmigration from the Chitwan Valley in Nepal. As the first part of a longitudinal study, a maximum variation sampling method was used to gather data on farming households' perceptions of environmental change and labor migration. While collecting field data, verbal consent was obtained from research participants and their identities protected. This study uses the measures of environmental change, social capital, and environmental history to analyze risk formation and amplification along migrant networks. Additionally, using t-tests, this data was compared to a sample from the Chitwan Valley Family Study (CVFS) to observe change in perception and labor migration over time. The analysis concludes that perception of environmental change interacts with socio-cultural processes in ways that intensify household level migration. In addition, environmental change is one of the main factors causing low efficiency in agriculture production, leading households to diversify occupation and income through labor migration.

Groundwater flow pattern and water level fluctuation in western parts of Chitwan valley

Study of flow pattern and water level fluctuation in the western part of the Chitwan Valley was carried out in the area of 274.48 km2. The study area consists of alluvial deposits of the Narayani and the Rapti River of Pleistocene to Recent age. Aquifers in the study area are unconfined and semi confined to confined types. Based on the static water level, Jagatpur, Sukranagar and Gunjanagar are deep tube well zone and Shivanagar, Parbatipur, Patihani, Gitanagar are shallow tube well zone. The western half area discharges groundwater to the Narayani River and southern half discharges to the Rapti River rather than getting recharged throughout the year. Average water level fluctuation is 2.34 m with high fluctuation of 4.88 m at Sukranagar and low 0.49 m at Dibyanagar VDC. This fluctuation is directly related to rainfall.

Remittance Received by Households of Western Chitwan Valley, Nepal: Does Migrant’s Destination Make a Difference?

Studies on migration in Nepal primarily focused on the causes of migration, in general. While a few studies examined the remittances received or sent by migrants, there is little information about the variation in remittances received by households by migrant’s destination. Thus, this exploratory study attempts to answer: Does the extent to which households receive remittances vary by migrant’s destination? Using the data collected in 2013 from the western Chitwan Valley of Nepal, the findings from multivariate analysis reveal that net of controls, both the receipt (whether a household received any remittance or not) as well as the amount of remittances received by a household varied by migrant’s destination. Evidence suggests that households are less likely to receive remittances from migrants working in India (a country of low earning potential) as compared to those working in Nepal. On the other hand, households received significantly more amount of remittances from migrants working in countries with high earning potentials (such as Middle East, East or South East Asia, and America, Australia and Europe) as compared to the domestic migrants who were working inside of Nepal but outside of Chitwan. Adjusting for other factors, the largest amount of remittances was received from migrants working in the East or South East Asian countries (e.g. South Korea, Malaysia, Japan) followed by those in America, Australia, and Europe and the Middle East. The insights gained from this exploratory study are discussed.

Preliminary Study on the State of Pre-Monsoon Time Climatic Comfort Over the Chitwan Valley, Nepal

Available with full text.The Himalayan Physics Vol. 5, No. 5, Nov. 2014Page: 59-68

Growth and yield response of hybrid maize (Zea mays L.) to phosphorus levels in sandy loam soil of Chitwan Valley, Nepal

To evaluate the phosphorus response on winter hybrid maize, a field experiment was conducted at farm land of National Maize Research Program, Rampur, Chitwan, Nepal on 2012 and 2013. Seven levels of Phosphorus i.e. 0, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100 and 120 kg P2O5 ha-1 were applied along with 160:40 kg N:K2O ha-1. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design with three replications. Hybrid maize RML 32 × RML 17 was used for this study. Analysis of variance showed that plant height (cm), dry matter accumulation (g), number of kernels per row, 1000 grain weight (g) and grain yield (ton ha-1) were significantly affected with Phosphorus level. The results showed that the trend of increment was positive for grain yield with increased P level from 0 to 80 kg P2O5 ha-1. The highest grain yield (10.77 ton ha-1) was measured when 120 kg P2O5 ha-1 is applied. It is concluded that 80 kg P2O5 ha-1 can be applied in winter season for hybrid maize RML-32 × RML-17 in Chitwan valley low land irrigated condition. Further studies are necessary on different soil types, seasons, management system and varieties to get more information about the most proper addition of P on maize. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ije.v4i2.12634 International Journal of Environment Vol.4(2) 2015: 147-156