Effectiveness of Gravity Goods Ropeways in Market Participation of Smallholder Farmers in Uplands

Abstract

Isolated from the market due to harsh terrain, low farm productivity and poor road connectivity, the majority of farmers in uphill practice subsistence farming characterized by abject poverty. Gravity Goods Ropeways (GGR) could be promising in high hills as it connects farmers to market in shortest time. Using three upland villages, this study aims to investigate whether GGR contributes to market participation and should be promoted in upland of Nepal to improve the livelihood of smallholder farmers. Six focus group discussions, 39 key informant interviews and 113 households’ surveys followed by before-after analysis were conducted to study how participation of smallholder farmers changed in input and output market due to GGR. With the much more reduced in average travel time to end market by 57% (p< 0.05), the farmers were able to transport high-quality product directly to small-scale (retailers and consumer) and large-scale (wholesaler) buyers eliminating the role of intermediaries. Additionally, GGR has significantly reduced transaction cost in terms of transportation by 43% (p< 0.05), post-harvest loss by 39% (p< 0.05), and information search creating a profitable environment for farmers to dictate and capture higher share in final selling price. Consequently, the average quantity of high-value crops (vegetable) supplied to the output market (84%), farm income (84%) and food expenditure (31%) has increased significantly (p<0.05) fulfilling the food needs of upland farmers for the entire year through the increased purchase of rice, pulses and processed food. Unlike output market, the farmers’ participation in purchasing fertilizer seeds, etc in input market has remained low as they continue to rely on traditional methods because of low cost and local applicability. Therefore, GGR should be promoted in upland of Nepal — and elsewhere with similar topographic, edaphic and demographic conditions. However, further research is required examining development impact of GGR for possible policy intervention, wider promotion, and replication.