Food and Nutrition Security Enhancement Project (FANSEP)

Start & End Date: 2018-Ongoing

Country/Countries: Nepal

Multilateral Institution(s) Involved: World Bank, Food and Agriculture Organization

Nepal’s economy is highly dependent on agriculture, which accounts for about one-third of GDP and employs two-thirds of the population. It is a major source of livelihood for approximately 75% of Nepalis, particularly in rural areas where there are large numbers of marginalized and disadvantaged people, and where poverty, food insecurity, and malnutrition have the highest instances. In the selected 14 project districts, it is estimated that 40-60% of the population is unable to meet the minimum daily caloric intake. The sector is characterized by smallholder, traditional and substance farming, however farmers typically have limited use of improved livestock, seeds, crop varieties or modern practices, poor irrigation systems, and high instances to pest and disease, high risk of natural disasters like flood and draught.

FANSEP improves agricultural productivity and nutrition practices in targeted smallholder farming communities in the Nepalese districts of Dhading, Gorkha, Dolakha, and Sindhupalchok for the (mid-)hills and Saptari, Siraha, Mahottari, and Dhanusha for the terai. The project primarily targets vulnerable households, namely those that are earthquake affected, acutely food insecure, disadvantaged, marginalized, and headed by women. The project introduces and promotes climate-smart and nutrition-sensitive agriculture practices by availing households of adapted technologies, providing better-performing plant and animal genetic resources, and building farmers’ capacities to master skills in improved agronomic and animal husbandry practices. The project also strengthens producer groups representing the targeted smallholder farmers by organizing them around commodities of common interest and enhancing their capacities in good governance and leadership skills, group dynamics, decision-making, problem-solving and risk management, bookkeeping, meeting organization, agriculture seasonal planning, marketing, value addition, preparation of simple business plans, and simple monitoring and evaluation. Finally, FANSEP directly works with communities, including female health community volunteers, using a community-driven, skills-based learning approach known as the Nutrition Field School (NFS) to remove barriers to improved dietary and care practices by supporting a package of inputs and services complemented by a behavioral change campaign for improved use of foods and hygiene and sanitation practices, while increasing access to public health services.

The project has benefitted 21,759 people, of which 43.6 percent are women. FANSEP has provided 21,759 smallholder farmers with productivity enhancement support, namely publishing and distributing Farmer Field School (FFS) manuals (crops, dairy, goat, poultry), FFS training curricula (crops, dairy, goat, poultry, livestock), toolkits and other learning materials to facilitate carrying out FFS Training of Facilitators (ToFs) and refreshers and other project activities, and six guidelines (crop, dairy, goat, rural poultry, technology demonstration, livestock), and completed 192 on-farm demonstrations of climate smart agriculture technologies. As part of the nutrition agenda, the project has helped form 355 nutrition groups, trained 31 people and 72 female NFS facilitators to conduct the NFSs, and provided small grants to mother/nutrition groups. FANSEP also provided matching grants to some of the 787 producer groups it formed and mobilized under the same call. To date, the project has distributed foundational and improved seeds in the amounts of 32.32 metric tons of wheat, 115.5 metric tons of potato tuber, 11.36 metric tons of forage, 3.17 metric tons of lentil, and 1,306.87 kilograms of vegetables. Finally, FANSEP developed a project management information system, trained 28 project staff on its use, and launched the project website (fansep.moald.gov.np).