Understanding the Policy Environment for Scaling Farmers’ Field Business School in Nepal: A Gender Focused Context Analysis with a Focus on Local and Sectoral Governance

The objectives of the Rupantaran project are to enhance dignity and self-esteem with livelihood promotion of Farmer Field Business School (FFBS) groups especially landless, women and Dalits, and other marginalized communities. The project is transforming the knowledge and skills of Small Holder Women Farmers (SHWFs) through the ‘Krishak Pathshala’ (Farmer Field Business School) model based on the ‘Learning by Doing’ approaches at the community level, and beneficiaries are taking the project positively and participating in FFBS model in their respective community.

The study is implemented by National Farmer Group Federation (NFGF) in partnership with CARE Nepal. The primary purpose of the study is to carry out a gender-focused context analysis to understand the policy environment and governance context with a focus on the local governance and sectoral governance of associated sectors with the FFBS scale-up, specifically agriculture, food security, climate change adaptation, nutrition, and markets. The study is focused on structure, institutional and governance arrangement, and the main change actors/stakeholders to enable the promotion of the FFBS model and identify the formal and informal institutions and opportunities that support upscaling of the FFBS model. It is found through the study that the structural barriers for women and Dalits are caste, class, gender, education, land size, ownership, and the traditional patriarchal mindset. Additionally, the study area's socially harmful practices include untouchability, child marriage, Gender Based Violence (GBV), dowry systems, and domestic violence from their intimate partner. Moreover, the care economy does not recognize women’s contribution to household chores.