Project Title: Identifying Land Management and Livelihood Options and Opportunities for Shifting Cultivation and Sloping Land Areas

Goal : The overall goal of the project is to enhance food security, diversify income generation and improve land management on sloping land and in shifting cultivation areas. 

Objectives : To diversify and increase farm-based income through on-farm trial and demonstration of technological and institutional options

• To improve land management through agro-forestry and other soil and water conservation practices.
• To promote land management and livelihood options through farmer-to-farmer exchange beyond the project area.
• To disseminate project findings to wider stakeholders for up-scaling.  

Major Activities :

Farmers from Chepang community using A frame

• Income options through diversification and intensification of farming activities (intensified home gardening, NTFPs, horticulture and livestock integration)
• Forage/forestry development through proper land management interventions.
• Modified contour hedgerows for land management and agriculture on slopes.
• Diversification of farming options such as agro-forestry and horticultural options.
• Demonstrate food security and income enhancement options through mixed cropping, seed production and value addition of agricultural and forest products.
• Institutional strengthening and capacity building of resource persons and farmers groups. 

Major Achievements:

• Identified land management options based on farmers’ interventions taking into consideration local knowledge and practices such as integrated hedgerow technology and other agro-forestry technologies  .
• Promoted income generation activities (seed production of cash crops and vegetables eg. beans, cowpea, black gram and mushroom production).
• Involved and benefited poor and socially excluded and even landless communities from home garden management.
• Developed an institutional modality for leasehold forestry user groups and strengthened capacity of farmers groups. 

Geographical Coverage : Abukhaireni VDC in Tanahun, Bhumlingchowk and Ghyalchowk VDCs in Gorkha, and Jogimara VDC in Dhading.  

Major Collaborator : DFO, DLSO, DSCWM 

Duration : December  2006 to November  2008)

Project Team : Bimal Raj Regmi, Gyan Bandhu Sharma, Bir Bahadur Tamang, Dr. Pratap Kumar Shrestha.