Agriculture Landholding and Food Security in Terai Region of Nepal: A Case Study of Lakshmaniya Rural Municipality, Dhanusha District

Agriculture is the primary source of livelihood in Nepal’s Terai region, which is widely recognized as the country’s food basket. However, agricultural landholding size, parcel fragmentation, and household size influence household food sufficiency. This study examines the relationship between agricultural landholding patterns and household food sufficiency in Lakshmaniya Rural Municipality, Dhanusha District, Nepal. Primary data were collected from 396 randomly selected households, supported by two focus group discussions and four key informant interviews. Information was obtained on landholding area, number of parcels, family size, cropping intensity, agricultural inputs, and months of household food sufficiency. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and multiple linear regression were used for data analysis. The average household food sufficiency was 9.83 months per year. Among 393 valid food-sufficiency responses, 8.91% of households reported food sufficiency for only three months, while 46.42% reported food sufficiency for 12 months or more. The average agricultural landholding was 0.78 ha, and the mean number of parcels was 5.88 per household, ranging from 1 to 45 parcels. A strong positive aggregated relationship was observed between average landholding area and food-sufficiency level (R² = 0.9224). Household-level regression analysis further showed that landholding area was positively associated with food sufficiency, whereas family size was negatively associated after controlling for landholding area. The Gini Index of 0.4874 indicated a moderate level of inequality in agricultural land distribution. The findings suggest that improving smallholders’ access to productive land, reducing inefficient land fragmentation through appropriate consolidation mechanisms, and strengthening access to irrigation, mechanization, quality seed, and other agricultural inputs can contribute to improved household food security in Nepal’s Terai region.