Agriculture, which generates two-third of the employment and one-third of the GDP in Nepal, is an important sector since Nepal is a small, landlocked country with low income. The government enacted the National Agriculture Policy in 2004 (NAP-2004) as an umbrella policy in the agricultural sector to guide all sectoral policies coming in the future. The paper has examined NAP-2004 by using the Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat (SWOT) analysis technique. For the analysis, secondary data, the publications of the government and the international organizations as well as peer-reviewed articles were reviewed. The strength and weakness were analyzed by using nine different indicators. The results of the paper will be instrumental for improvement of the agricultural policy.

This study assessed farmers’ perception of climate change, and estimated the determinants of, and evaluated the relationship among, adaptation practices using the multivariate probit model. A survey in 300 agricultural households was carried out covering 10 sample districts considering five agro-ecological zones and a vulnerability index. Four adaptation choices (change in planting date, crop variety, crop type and investment in irrigation) were deemed as outcome variables and socioeconomic, demographic, institutional, farm-level and perceptions variables were deployed as explanatory variables. Their marginal effects were determined for three climatic variables—temperature, precipitation and drought. Age, gender and education of head of household, credit access, farm area, rain-fed farming and tenure, were found to be more influential compared to other factors. All four adaptation options were found to be complimentary to each other. Importantly, the intensity of the impact of dependent variables in different models, and for the available adaptation options, were found to be unequal. Therefore, policy options and support facilities should be devised according to climatic variables and adaptation options to achieve superior results.

The paper attempts to explore the factors affecting the farm mechanization in Nepal, where agriculture is the primary livelihood of most people and the mechanization is crucial for efficient production and productivity. The government has also introduced a separate policy for agriculture mechanization in 2014. A primary data was collected from 300 households and analysed to assess and quantify the determinants of the farm mechanization. A descriptive analysis was carried out for understanding the data and the results were interpreted. Similarly, the multiple regression was executed to assess the factors affecting total investment in the farm machinery. The five different models were specified and compared for the better results. Moreover, to have deeper insight, the farm machinery was categorized into light machinery, heavy machinery and animal power. The results showed that light machinery is an essential part of Nepali farming system. Likewise, the presence of animal power, income per capita, per capita farm area, adaptation due to change in temperature, Household size, Farm area and income are significant determinants for total investment in farm mechanization.

Food security is a major concern of the world in the context of increasing population, changing climate and declining scarce natural resources. Reducing food loss is equally important as increasing food production and productivity to feed the world, where 9.7 billion inhabitants were expected by 2050. Food loss can occur at several points along the food chain, however, harvest loss at the farm level is often overlooked which is directly impacting on sustainability. The paper attempts to estimate harvest loss at the farm level. A household survey was executed in 300 households from ten sample districts across Nepal. The percentage of harvest loss at the farm level was calculated for each crop grown as per - the season, per plot and priority. Likewise, the multiple regression was executed to determine the level of influence of the socio-economic factors on the post-harvest loss at the farm level for the major crops. The mean harvest loss at the farm level found around 5 percent for the reported crops. The multiple regression model demonstrated that at the farm level, socio-economic factors might have a smaller influence on harvest loss as compared to physical and biological contributing factors. Nevertheless, reducing the post-harvest loss will increase food availability and thus the food security.

‘Circular economy‘ in agriculture centres on the production of agricultural commodities using a minimal amount of external inputs, closing nutrient loops and reducing negative discharges to the environment (in the form of wastes and emissions). This can be achieved through the (re)design of maintenance, repair, reuse, remanufacturing, refurbishing, and recycling. Under the principles of CE, products and materials approaching their end-of-life stage can be regenerated or restored or replaced. Circular agriculture is aimed at closing the loop of materials and substances, and reducing both resource use and discharges into the environment. New measures like environmental taxes, insurance for liability resulting from environmental damage, cap and trade system and environmental labelling can be explored to promote transition of a current linear model to a circular one. The circular economy in Nepal is in infant stage and there is plenty of works to be done in this sector. The results of the paper will be instrumental for the transition of Nepalese agricultural sector to a more circular one.