Are climate finance subsidies equitably distributed among farmers? Assessing socio-demographics of solar irrigation in Nepal

Solar-powered irrigation pumps are a vital tool for both climate change adaptation and mitigation. Since most developing countries cannot fully utilize large-scale global funds for climate finance due to limited institutional capacities, small-scale solar irrigation pumps (SIPs) can provide a climat...

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Autores principales: Kafle, K., Uprety, Labisha, Shrestha, Gitta, Pandey, V., Mukherji, Aditi
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Elsevier 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/121021
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author Kafle, K.
Uprety, Labisha
Shrestha, Gitta
Pandey, V.
Mukherji, Aditi
author_browse Kafle, K.
Mukherji, Aditi
Pandey, V.
Shrestha, Gitta
Uprety, Labisha
author_facet Kafle, K.
Uprety, Labisha
Shrestha, Gitta
Pandey, V.
Mukherji, Aditi
author_sort Kafle, K.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Solar-powered irrigation pumps are a vital tool for both climate change adaptation and mitigation. Since most developing countries cannot fully utilize large-scale global funds for climate finance due to limited institutional capacities, small-scale solar irrigation pumps (SIPs) can provide a climate-resilient technological solution. We study the case of a subsidized SIP program in Nepal to understand who likely benefits from a small-scale climate finance program in a developing country setting. We analyze government data on profiles of farmers applying for SIPs and in-depth interviews with different actors along the SIP service chain. We find that vulnerable farmers (women, ethnic minorities, and poor farmers) were less likely than wealthier and non-minority farmers to have access to climate finance subsidies. Even though the government agency gave preference to women and ethnic minority farmers during beneficiary selection, an unrepresentative pool of applicants resulting from social and institutional barriers that prevented them from applying to the program led to an inequitable distribution of subsidized SIPs. The lack of a clear policy framework for allocating climate finance subsidies was a significant constraint. Lack of periodic updating of SIP prices and poor provision of after-sale services were also responsible for the inequitable distribution of subsidized SIPs. We recommend the involvement of local governments in soliciting applications from a wider pool of farmers, periodic revision of SIP prices to reflect market price, replacement of the current fixed subsidy scheme with a variable subsidy scheme, and mandatory provisions of after-sales services.
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spelling CGSpace1210212025-10-26T13:01:55Z Are climate finance subsidies equitably distributed among farmers? Assessing socio-demographics of solar irrigation in Nepal Kafle, K. Uprety, Labisha Shrestha, Gitta Pandey, V. Mukherji, Aditi climate change finance subsidies equity smallholders women farmers gender social inclusion ethnic groups solar powered irrigation systems pumps renewable energy policies monitoring Solar-powered irrigation pumps are a vital tool for both climate change adaptation and mitigation. Since most developing countries cannot fully utilize large-scale global funds for climate finance due to limited institutional capacities, small-scale solar irrigation pumps (SIPs) can provide a climate-resilient technological solution. We study the case of a subsidized SIP program in Nepal to understand who likely benefits from a small-scale climate finance program in a developing country setting. We analyze government data on profiles of farmers applying for SIPs and in-depth interviews with different actors along the SIP service chain. We find that vulnerable farmers (women, ethnic minorities, and poor farmers) were less likely than wealthier and non-minority farmers to have access to climate finance subsidies. Even though the government agency gave preference to women and ethnic minority farmers during beneficiary selection, an unrepresentative pool of applicants resulting from social and institutional barriers that prevented them from applying to the program led to an inequitable distribution of subsidized SIPs. The lack of a clear policy framework for allocating climate finance subsidies was a significant constraint. Lack of periodic updating of SIP prices and poor provision of after-sale services were also responsible for the inequitable distribution of subsidized SIPs. We recommend the involvement of local governments in soliciting applications from a wider pool of farmers, periodic revision of SIP prices to reflect market price, replacement of the current fixed subsidy scheme with a variable subsidy scheme, and mandatory provisions of after-sales services. 2022-09 2022-08-30T22:40:35Z 2022-08-30T22:40:35Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/121021 en Open Access Elsevier Kafle, K.; Uprety, Labisha; Shrestha, Gitta; Pandey, V.; Mukherji, Aditi. 2022. Are climate finance subsidies equitably distributed among farmers? Assessing socio-demographics of solar irrigation in Nepal. Energy Research and Social Science, 91:102756. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2022.102756]
spellingShingle climate change
finance
subsidies
equity
smallholders
women farmers
gender
social inclusion
ethnic groups
solar powered irrigation systems
pumps
renewable energy
policies
monitoring
Kafle, K.
Uprety, Labisha
Shrestha, Gitta
Pandey, V.
Mukherji, Aditi
Are climate finance subsidies equitably distributed among farmers? Assessing socio-demographics of solar irrigation in Nepal
title Are climate finance subsidies equitably distributed among farmers? Assessing socio-demographics of solar irrigation in Nepal
title_full Are climate finance subsidies equitably distributed among farmers? Assessing socio-demographics of solar irrigation in Nepal
title_fullStr Are climate finance subsidies equitably distributed among farmers? Assessing socio-demographics of solar irrigation in Nepal
title_full_unstemmed Are climate finance subsidies equitably distributed among farmers? Assessing socio-demographics of solar irrigation in Nepal
title_short Are climate finance subsidies equitably distributed among farmers? Assessing socio-demographics of solar irrigation in Nepal
title_sort are climate finance subsidies equitably distributed among farmers assessing socio demographics of solar irrigation in nepal
topic climate change
finance
subsidies
equity
smallholders
women farmers
gender
social inclusion
ethnic groups
solar powered irrigation systems
pumps
renewable energy
policies
monitoring
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/121021
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