Introduction

Nepal is a low-income food-deficit country (FAO 2018) where people have micronutrient-deficient diets and micronutrient deficiencies are common. Pollinator loss disproportionately harms developing countries, as they are both less resilient to yield drops and more reliant on the micronutrients found in small-scale pollinator-dependent crops. Providing population-wide vitamin supplementation is neither practical nor sustainable in remote parts of the world; instead, diversifying the diet by increasing access to micronutrient-rich fruits, vegetables and legumes could provide a solution.

General Objective:

This project aims to describe the dietary intake and record the nutritional status of populations in rural Jumla district over a 12-month period to identify crops providing important dietary micronutrients to these populations. The project aims to record the pollinators of these crops and their sensitivity to climate change so as to assess the vulnerability of local people to crop yield losses as a result of pollinator decline and climate change. We aim to use this information to design strategies to mitigate the effects of climate change and pollinator loss on human health.

Specific Objective:

Our project has five specific objectives:

1) Identify the crops providing key micronutrients to populations in Jumla district using dietary recall surveys.

2) Identify the dominant pollinators of these micronutrient-rich crops using field surveys in the same villages.

3) Predict the effect of climate change on these key crop pollinators and the ensuing impact on crop production and micronutrient intake using a simulated modelling approach.

4) Devise mitigation practices to protect crop pollinators from climate change and thereby safeguard the micronutrients in people’s diet.

5) Develop a policy and education package to mitigate the effects of climate change on crop pollination and micronutrient intake.

Blog from our partner

Blog post by Jessica Camps

Project Information

Thematic areas

Nutrition

Important Statistics

  • Sample Size 800
  • HR Mobilization 50
  • Coverage Area 1 district

Project Partner(s)

Associated Team Members

Project Location

Similar Projects

No related projects to show