Constraints and opportunities of vegetable subsector in Kaski and Kapilvastu District of Western Nepal

Nepal is a land of geographical diversity with mountains and hills occupying roughly 85% of the total topography with about 81% of the total population directly or indirectly absorbed by the agriculture sector. There are 25.16% of the populations living below the poverty line. Hence, to overcome the poverty, Prosperity Realization through Irrigation and Smallholder Markets (PRISM) is implemented as an approach of intervention based on constraints and opportunities identified in agriculture sector. In order to identify the constraints and opportunities of vegetable subsector, Kaski in the hill and Kapilvastu in the Terai were randomly selected for the study. Household survey was done in Kaski and Kapilvastu covering 15 different groups with 105 households in Kaski and 24 groups with 168 households in Kapilvastu. The information was collected through semi-structured questionnaire including participatory rural appraisal meetings using structured checklist. The information collected was tabulated, processed and analyzed through SPSS program. The survey outcome reflected that the vegetable subsector pinpointed different opportunities and constraints related to input supply, production, and output marketing levels including finance, technology, policy and infrastructure. The opportunities identified needs to be tapped and interventions designed and implemented to address the constraints at various categories and levels. Programs planned and implemented on the basis of constraints and opportunities identified could prove more effective and vibrant for the growth and development of the whole vegetable subsector in those studied area.