Increasing the sustainability of the Nepal vegetable sector with organic fertilisers, climate-resilient seeds and smart farming practices
Since 2019, the UK FCDO's CASA Programme has partnered with agribusinesses and investors, helping agribusinesses make their business models more inclusive, attract investments, and improve the income and climate resilience of smallholder farmers. CASA demonstrates that investing in climate-resilient agri-food systems with smallholder farmers can be profitable.
CASA’s work in the vegetable sector is contributing to both carbon mitigation and climate resilience goals:
Carbon mitigation
- CASA supported National Biotech, an organic fertiliser manufacturing company, to promote organic fertilisers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and environmental damage from inappropriate application of chemical fertilisers. The application of organic fertilisers also resulted in increased yields and income for smallholders.
- Collaboration with Nepal Agricultural Cooperative Central Federation Ltd for packing and storage of vegetables reduced food waste, reducing resource consumption per unit product at market.
Climate resilience
- CASA supported Pabitra seeds to invest in climate-resilient seeds and crop adaptation strategies, helping farmers to cope with climate-related challenges.
- CASA provided technical assistance to a vegetable exporter called Paicho Pasal to incorporate soil testing and drip irrigation practices. These measures improved water and resource management, reduced water consumption, and enhanced resilience to drought.
Climate adaptation
- The “GeoKrishi” and “Kheti” apps provided farmers with soil health and land management advisory services to improve farming practices, including on how to manage possible changes in climate.
All of the above activities were integrated into CASA’s broader market systems development goals. They contributed to improving the business models of partner agribusinesses within the vegetable sector and the way in which they generate benefits for their smallholder suppliers.
Through these actions, CASA has demonstrated the efficacy and commercial viability of integrating climate objectives into MSD interventions. This highlights the importance of identifying opportunities to contribute to climate resilience, adaptation and, where possible, mitigation, at the intervention design phase.
In 2022, CASA became fully funded by UK International Climate Finance (ICF), resulting in climate action becoming a core programme goal. How CASA adjusted to focus on climate and what lessons it learned are shared in the paper Adapting agriculture programmes to address climate change.