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Climate-resilient agriculture is key to food security and environmental protection amid climate change. By adopting sustainable practices, farmers can boost resilience and improve health outcomes. Social investors can accelerate this transformation by funding climate-smart innovations, such as a scalable biofertilizer pilot project in Nepal.
The effect of climate change on agriculture
To feed its growing population amid a changing climate, Nepal is intensifying agricultural production. As a result, traditional roles of women in agriculture are evolving, with more women participating in farm decision-making.
Agriculture provides vital income for women, but off-farm job competition has led to labour shortages. As young men migrate to cities or abroad, Nepal’s agriculture is increasingly feminized. This labour gap, combined with input-intensive farming, has caused poor land management, soil degradation, pest resistance, and climate challenges like drought and flooding, reducing crop yields, nutrient quality, and food security[1].
Climate-smart innovations
To counter these challenges, climate-smart innovations can improve incomes for female farmers in Nepal and enhance food security, aligning with Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger by 2030[2].
iDE, a global organisation committed to eradicating poverty through entrepreneurship, is working to blend traditional ecological knowledge with modern agricultural techniques for smallholder farmers in Nepal. Since 1992, iDE has been fostering prosperity in Nepal, building value chains and innovative business models in key sectors such as agriculture, nutrition, market system development, water, sanitation, climate resilience, and gender equality. iDE aims to catalyse the creation of beneficial, cost-effective products and services that contribute to sustainable growth and improved well-being.
In 2021, iDE Nepal piloted a new biofertilizer innovation at the Surkhet District Collection Centers, producing high-quality worm compost (vermicompost) from farmyard manure and crop residues. The addition of beneficial fungus (Trichoderma viride) reduced soil-borne diseases and boosted crop yields by 15%. The initiative involved 2,013 farmers, producing 68.06 tonnes of compost and creating 22 jobs.
This low-labor compost production requires minimal investment, space, and management, making it ideal for women to operate as home-based enterprises. It enables women to balance household responsibilities while gaining skills in food production, waste management, and small-scale business. The initiative boosts economic opportunities for women while enhancing vegetable production and soil quality with biofertilizers.
“Farming communities in this pilot use only 30–40% of the fertilizer they produce. With high demand for biofertilizer and a shortage of chemical fertilizers, communities can sell surplus compost, meeting local needs and supporting the shift to safe, organic vegetable production. This not only meets the local demand for nutrient-rich fertilizers but also supports a shift toward safe, organic vegetable production, which has notable health and nutritional benefits,” according to Lalit Sah, Climate Resilient and Agriculture Lead at iDE Nepal.
Scaling the biofertilizer solution
Building on its initial success, iDE plans to scale its biofertilizer initiative in 2025 by establishing eight community-led enterprises to produce 640 tonnes of organic worm compost annually. Supported by Bayer Foundation, the expansion will involve 400 farmers in compost production, and provide over 5,000 households with training or access to organic fertilizer. “This initiative will help households grow more vegetables, improve nutrition, and boost farmer incomes by approximately USD 300 annually through compost sales and safe vegetable production, fostering sustainable and profitable agriculture” Lalit Sah adds.
Funding gap
“The biofertilizer solution stands out as a practical approach to addressing climate change’s impacts on food security, a key area linked to human health” explains Dr. Peng Zhong, Social Innovation Director at Bayer Foundation. This aligns with the ‘Climate and Health Opportunity Primer’”, which Bayer Foundation co-developed with AVPN and Dalberg Advisers to highlight the need for social investments in climate adaptation and health.
The report notes that while AgTech start-ups in APAC received USD 2.6 billion in early 2023, including USD 1.7 billion for innovation, climate adaptation financing for human health remains severely underfunded. Developing countries require USD 20 billion annually for climate-health adaptation by 2030, yet 93% of this need is unmet. In APAC alone, the USD 3 billion funding gap is six times the current investment level.
The urgency for climate adaptation funding is undeniable. Now is the time for investors and partners to take bold action. By stepping forward and bridging this funding gap, we can drive lasting change—ensuring better human health outcomes and strengthening global climate resilience. Let’s act today to secure a sustainable, healthier tomorrow.
This article is provided by Bayer Foundation with the support of Christien van den Brink and IDE.
[1] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666154323001382
[2] To achieve zero hunger by 2030, urgent coordinated action and policy solutions are imperative to address entrenched inequalities, transform food systems, invest in sustainable agricultural practices, and reduce and mitigate the impact of conflict and the pandemic on global nutrition and food security – https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/hunger/
