Contribution of irrigation to sustaining rural livelihoods: Nepal case study.

Three small, farmer-managed irrigation schemes were investigated, one in the central inner Terai, (Janakalayan), and two in the central hill districts (Kalleritar and Yampaphant), to assess how irrigation has affected farmers, and others whose livelihoods are linked to irrigated agriculture. Relatively young schemes, 15-20 years old, were selected so that a reasonable understanding of conditions prior to development was possible. National and regional statistics for key parameters, such as land distribution and household size, indicate that the selected schemes are representative of conditions in the central Terai and middle hill regions. The schemes are, however, all reasonably close to major roads and are therefore not fully representative of remote areas