Article: Factors associated with farm-level variation, and farmers' perception and climate change adaptation in smallholder mixed-farming livestock production system in Nepal Journal: International Journal of Environment and Sustainable Development (IJESD) 2015 Vol.14 No.3 pp.231 - 257 Abstract: To identify factors associated with farm-level variability, to understand farmers' perception on climate change impacts, and to assess livestock climate change adaptation, a full-fledged household survey was launched in May 2012 in the Thulokhola watershed of Nuwakot district in Nepal. Factors identified for farm-level variation included land holding size and land types (irrigated, non-irrigated), male and female labours in a household, number of goats and cattle owned, fodder and forages, forest products utilised, number of animal grazing days, and income diversification. Drought conditions, erratic rain events, livestock diseases and parasites, decreasing pregnancy rate in animals, fodder and water shortages, and forest degradation were major climate change impacts in this watershed. To cope with these impacts, farmers have practiced introducing new animal breeds, stall feeding, planting grasses, storing feed for feed shortage months, purchasing feed, constructing ponds, and installing pipelines for water supply. However, they are limited and lacking scientific rigors. Inderscience Publishers - linking academia, business and industry through research

Title: Factors associated with farm-level variation, and farmers' perception and climate change adaptation in smallholder mixed-farming livestock production system in Nepal

Authors: Durga D. Poudel

Addresses: Environmental Science Program, School of Geosciences, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, P.O. Box 44650, Lafayette, LA 70504, USA

Abstract: To identify factors associated with farm-level variability, to understand farmers' perception on climate change impacts, and to assess livestock climate change adaptation, a full-fledged household survey was launched in May 2012 in the Thulokhola watershed of Nuwakot district in Nepal. Factors identified for farm-level variation included land holding size and land types (irrigated, non-irrigated), male and female labours in a household, number of goats and cattle owned, fodder and forages, forest products utilised, number of animal grazing days, and income diversification. Drought conditions, erratic rain events, livestock diseases and parasites, decreasing pregnancy rate in animals, fodder and water shortages, and forest degradation were major climate change impacts in this watershed. To cope with these impacts, farmers have practiced introducing new animal breeds, stall feeding, planting grasses, storing feed for feed shortage months, purchasing feed, constructing ponds, and installing pipelines for water supply. However, they are limited and lacking scientific rigors.

Keywords: farm-level variability; smallholder mixed-farming; livestock production; farmers' perception; climate change impacts; climate change adaptation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESD.2015.070134

International Journal of Environment and Sustainable Development, 2015 Vol.14 No.3, pp.231 - 257

Received: 01 Nov 2013
Accepted: 29 Oct 2014
Published online: 27 Jun 2015 *

Title: Factors associated with farm-level variation, and farmers' perception and climate change adaptation in smallholder mixed-farming livestock production system in Nepal

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