FAU own research funding: EFI / IZKF / EAM ...
Start date : 01.08.2025
End date : 31.05.2026
With an estimated population of 2.54 million and an annual growth rate of 6.5%, the Kathmandu Valley is one of the fastest-growing urban areas in South Asia . Rapid urbanisation is one of the main reasons for the loss of agricultural land in the Kathmandu Valley, now posing an existential threat to peri-urban agriculture. In recent years, significant changes have also been observed in the traditional urban agricultural system on the outskirts: ambitious infrastructure and urban development projects are competing for land, while many farmers are becoming more interested in commercial agriculture, such as the cultivation of high-value crops and horticulture, and less interested in subsistence farming.
Thus, agriculture in the Kathmandu Valley is subject to competing land use demands and increased pressure to adapt. In recent years, small farmers and agro-entrepreneurs have responded to this by building greenhouses, since expanding the area under cultivation is not feasible due to the aforementioned conditions. However, these current developments have not yet been systematically investigated.
To close this gap, the project will examine the temporal and spatial dynamics of greenhouse cultivation in detail, as well as its role and impact within the urban agricultural system of the Kathmandu Valley. This will include an analysis of land use, operational structures, economic forms, cultivated products, labour requirements and marketing.
Agriculture in the Kathmandu Valley is facing competing land use demands and increased pressure to adapt due to land use change and rapid urbanisation. In recent years, smallholders and agribusinesses have increasingly responded to this by building greenhouses, as expanding cultivation areas is not feasible due to the conditions described above. However, these current developments have not yet been systematically investigated. To close this gap, the project aims to examine the temporal and spatial dynamics of greenhouse cultivation and its role and impact within the urban agricultural system of the Kathmandu Valley, land use, farm structures, economic forms and cultivated products, as well as labour (requirements) and marketing in a differentiated manner.
The project is funded by the Sonderfonds für wissenschaftliches Arbeiten at FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg.