Agro and Food Vulnerabilities and DRR in a Mountain Ecosystem in Nepal

Agricultural production is constraining by disasters caused by climate change and natural hazards such as earthquakes, floods, landslides, intense rain, and heat waves. Such events have put fragile agricultural ecosystems at risk. The agriculture sector plays a positive role in the Nepalese economy, contributing 27% to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and is associated with the livelihoods of 60.4% of the population. However, this sector is highly exposed and vulnerable to disaster events and the impacts of hazards caused by natural and anthropogenic. Over the past decade, data shows that the agriculture and food sectors have experienced considerable direct and indirect losses and damage due to disasters triggered by natural hazards, including earthquakes, floods, landslides, glacier lake outburst floods (GLOFs), and flash floods. Although the government has established acts and policies, and people are following different coping strategies are still not enough for sustainable agriculture and food security. The present impact may influence future generations. Thus, it is very important to identify the current agriculture system and its vulnerability to various disasters. Therefore, this chapter attempts to demonstrate various vulnerabilities in the agro-food systems in Nepal and ways to tackle them including success stories.