Does Kitchen Garden and Backyard Livestock Farming Help Combat Food Insecurity?

Similar to other developing countries, food insecurity is one of the problems in Nepal. Around one-fourth of the households from the NLSS II data were found to be food poor. However, analysis of the severity and depth of poverty as well as analysis of inequality in per capita food consumption expenditures showed food-poor households to be close to the poverty line as well as these being less disparity in food consumption. Thus, we can say that food poverty is not very severe and although it may not be eradicated immediately it could be tackled with the appropriate policy measures. Food security seems to be determined by several variables. Among these we considered two variables to be of much concern. Having some livestock animals was assumed to have strong influence on household food security, which could not be supported by the insignificance of this variable in our research. Although livestock seems to have non-negative effects for urban food security, it is still insignificant here. On the other hand, having a kitchen garden seems to increase per capita food consumption expenditures and ensures security against food shortages. It may specially be important in the case of the provision of nutrient-rich foods like vegetables, which are the common product of a kitchen garden. Since the coefficient for kitchen garden variable is higher in the case of the limited model of the urban households, it could also be said to be of much value for these households. From the results of this research it could be recommended to the households to maintain a kitchen garden to the extent possible. The government should prioritize urban agriculture, maybe by providing improved seeds for kitchen garden crops within reasonable price and quality, and with other appropriate policy approaches. We recommend further research for finding the scope of urban agriculture in the developing countries like in Nepal.