A presentation made together with speech as chief speaker at the World Food Day Observance in Kathmandu, October 16, 2014 Presenter: Rajendra P Sharma Email: rpsharma@mailcity.com

1. Urban Agriculture: Family Farming for Food Security
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Rajendra P Sharma
THEME
Family Farming: “Feeding the World,
Caring for the Earth” to stress the vast
potential family farmers have to eradicate
hunger and preserve natural resources
Kathmandu, Nepal, 2014

2. founded in 1943 during the UN Conference on Food and
Agriculture
United Nations General Assembly Resolution: 35/70
Core objectives:
 to raise public awareness
 focus attention on food security
 disseminate information
 mobilize public opinion and funds in favor of the global fight
against hunger
FAO marks World Food Day each year on 16 October, the day on
which theOrganization was founded in 1945.
 World Food Day was first held on 16 Oct 1981.
 Family Farming is the focus of World
Food Day 2014. 2

3. Family farming includes
 all family-based agricultural activities, and it is linked
to several areas of the rural and urban development.
Family farming is a means of organizing
 agricultural, forestry, fisheries, pastoral and aquaculture
production
 which is managed and operated by a family and
predominantly reliant on family labour, including
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What is family farming?

4. Why is family farming
important?
Family farming has an important socio-economic,
environmental and cultural role.
 linked to world food security.
 preserves traditional food products
 contributes to balanced diet and safeguarding the
agro-biodiversity and sustainable use of natural
resources.
4 an opportunity to boost local economies

5.  Family Farming is the predominant form of
agriculture both in rural and urban setting,
developed and developing countries
 Family farmers are an important part of the
solution for a world free from poverty and
hunger
 Family Farmers can deploy their potential
productivity when the appropriate pro-family
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Main messages

6. 6

7. 7

8. Nepal: Overview of the situation
Nepal: Land locked, mountainous and least developed
 26.6 million population
 13th poorest country in the world
 Economy: natural resources (Uneven distribution
and Use)
 Unemployment rates are highest among people
just out of college
 38.8 % of the population are either unemployed or
underemployed
 15-29 years young people: 6.131 million people
(26.2 % of total population of which 11.4 % are out
of work)

9. Situation
Agriculture: small holder, traditional and
subsistence farming
 Fast growing but haphazard urbanization
 58 municipality, New 72, recommended 66 and more
coming up
 Small towns
 Market centers
 Urban bound migration left rural land abandoned
 Small land holding: A total of 34 lakhs people holds
less than 0.5 Hector
 Climate change and its impact: severe weather
events

10. Food Security: Scenario
 3 global parameters: 79/105 countries, GFSI 2012
 34 districts food deficit (MoAD 2013)
 2/3 suffers from food insecurity each year
 Currently 3.7 million people are food insecure
 People from rural and remote areas are dependent
on external and emergency food supply
 The continued food insecurity and lack of
employment opportunities
 Leading out migration of youth !!

11. Food Security: policies
 Agriculture Prospective Plan, 1995
 National Agricultural Policy, 2004
 Agribusiness Promotion Policy, 2007
 10th five year plan; 11st three year plan
 National Agriculture Sector Development Priority
Plan, 2011-2015
 Country Investment Plan
 Agriculture Development Strategy, 2015-2035
(Upcoming)

12. Youth Prospective
 Young people are future and future generations
of farmers
 Young are adept at spreading new habit, raising
awareness and advocates for change
 To meet present growing population and future
projected population; food security =
sustainable agriculture practices
 Here comes the role of YOUTH

13. Sustainable Agro Practices through
Family Farming
 Change in food habit
 Demand based production
 Cash cropping
 Environment friendly farming
 Lease hold farming
 Product diversification
 Sustainable crop management practices

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Different name but same purpose!!
(Family, Kitchen garden, Terrace garden, Lease
Greeneri
es
hold farming etc.)
Use of free
time
Family
Farming
Fresh
Nutrients
Lovely
Aesthetic
atmosph
ere
Less
Pollutio
n
Income
Generati
on
Free Time or Full Time ? Choice is ours !!

15. Rural Urban Transformations
 Agricultural land reduction
 Multifunctional use versus
specialized use
 Land abandonment versus
revitalization
 Systematize urban agriculture
 Use of open space, home
garden, roof tops, terrace etc
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16. Revitalisation of both Rural and Urban
Today
Patchworks of nucleus and
plasma, clusters?
Abandonment of rural
areas
Smaller numerous multi-functional
systems of activity linked to local
markets of diversified products
Fewer large agro-industrial
systems of activity linked to
global markets of
standardised products
Wealth of
family farms
Urban farming
Marginalizati
on
Concentration
of production
Agro-Practice

17. Future
Presen
t
COMPLICA
TED
Cause and effect are
separated in time and
space and can be
researched
Analyze/Guideline
COMPLEX
emergent
practice
Uncertainty Certainty
s
good
practice
The cause-effect
relationship does not
repeat and is
unpredictable
Experiment/Principle
s
CAHOTIC
No cause-effect
relationship can
be observed
Decide/Vision
new
practice
SIMPLE
The cause-effect
relationship is
repeatable
Act/rules
best
practice
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Adapted from Cynefin and D. Snowden 7

18. Sharing Values?
&
& &
&
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People
goods
Well-being
profit
Sustainability
productivity
Equity
growth

19. Thank you very
much
For feed back and sharing thoughts
in future:
GPO: 21488
Tel: 9841201967
rpsharma@mailcity.com
Tweet @ Mr_RPsharma
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