Veena Annadana
Well-Known Member
Organic Farming in Nepal and 'Going Organic From School to Home' Project
As the main purpose of the project is to motivate farmers towards organic farming, there are plans to develop the above villages as the model village and encourage farmers in other parts of the country to start the same.
By Deepak R. Poudyal
Now-a-days, organic farming is becoming popular worldwide. Conventional farming using huge quantity of chemicals and pesticides are harmful to the environment and human health. People are now conscious about it and moving towards organic farming.
Organic farming is not a new concept of agriculture in Nepal. In ancient times, the farmers had engaged in this farming and gained a lot of knowledge on it. The prime aim of organic farming is applying/using natural materials in agriculture and prohibiting the use of the chemical fertilizers and pesticides which ultimately ruins the land.
The development of Science and Technology has made huge changes in various sectors resulting in tremendous development in the world economy. Agriculture is such a sector which has played vital role in this regard. Different countries of the world became successful in mass production in agriculture by applying the latest technology, chemical fertilizers and pesticides, thus raising their economic standard. The immense use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides has been the usual practice of modern farming in most of the countries for growing agricultural production. This practice has also been a compulsion for all to increase agricultural production and feed their ever increasing population. However, though this has solved the problem for now, it does not bode well for the future with the point of view of human health and destruction of eco-system of the globe. The heavy use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides has affected and will certainly affect, directly and indirectly, the surrounding land, water, flora and fauna and insects and animals.
With the use of chemical fertilizers, in the beginning, there is a huge increase in production from the land, but after a while of regular use, the production capacity of the land decreases reaching to a point where one day the production capacity may reach zero – resulting in cascading economic problems and lack of food in certain areas.
Though it may take a while to embrace organic farming, we must surely move in that direction. The move has slowly begun in Nepal with some farmers embracing it. The government of Nepal is also paying attention towards this and making various programs in this direction.
"Going Organic from School to Home" is a project launched to educate the community and students of Sankhu Suntole VDC Ward No. 8 Palubari and Ward No 9 Bishambhara about the benefit of organic farming and supported by Poverty Alleviation Fund (PAF), Nepal.
A memorandum of agreement was made with Poverty Alleviation Fund (PAF) and Hoste Hainse in July 2008 to run the project in the above villages. The main objective of the project is to:
• provide appropriate training and informational resources to the community about the sustainable practices of organic farming
• educate the community about the effects of conventional farming on their health and the environment
• integrate a new curriculum focusing primarily on key issues such as safe and sustainable farming practices, nutrition, health, usage of clean water, environmental science and global climate change
• provide hands on lesson and activities to the community of Sankhu and surrounding areas
• provide vocational training about organic farming to the students of Sankhu Palubari Community School grade six to eighth
• train the villagers about organic farming so that it helps every individual and the overall community to generate income source for their survival
When the project started, it began creating awareness about organic farming in the community for the improvement of the livelihoods and environment. Different training was provided to farmers taking up organic farming.
At the same time, various awareness programmes were initiated. Project staff and volunteers visited the households of Palubari and Bishambhara villages informing people about the project activities and the advantages of organic farming. Hoarding boards were prepared with the purpose of disseminating information to the farmers about seasonal vegetables for organic farming.
Nineteen organic groups have been formed so far. A model community farm and training centre has been established in Palubari village. A community resource and information centre (CRIC) has also been set up. The CRIC is also used as an office by the project staff as well as a training room and informal education classroom for the community.
One of the most important achievements of the project is the initiation of Sankhu Palubari Cooperative Limited that has started providing micro-loans to the needy people for organic farming, at a very low interest rate. So far, the cooperative has provided loans to 45 farmers of the area.
A draft of organic farming curriculum for grade six to eighth school students has been made with the coordination of the Curriculum Development Centre. The Curriculum Development Centre has made assurance that the draft will be finalized and implemented by next academic year as far as possible.
Four organic clubs have been formed in the schools of Sankhu Palubari and Bishambhara with the purpose of teaching students about the advantages of organic farming, as well as creating awareness about the environment. Additionally, the process to form these types of clubs in other schools of the surrounding areas has begun.
Sankhu Palubari Community School students and their teachers also visit the training centre on a weekly basis. These types of visits assist in the hands on training aspect of the organic farming curriculum for the students. Meanwhile, informal classes on organic farming have also begun at the training centre.
Sankhu Palubari Cooperative Ltd has also started collecting various types of non-pesticide vegetables from the community people of Sankhu and selling them in the market of Kathmandu city.
As the main purpose of the project is to motivate farmers towards organic farming, there are plans to develop the above villages as the model village and encourage farmers in other parts of the country to start the same.
(Poudyal is a Masters Degree holder in information and communication science from India. Presently he is engaged as team leader of the above project and can be reached at poudyaldr@hotmail.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )
(Editor’s Note: Nepalis, wherever they live, as well as friends of Nepal around the globe are requested to contribute their views/opinions/recollections etc. on issues concerning present day Nepal to the Guest Column of Nepalnews. Length of the article should not be more than 1,000 words and may be edited for the purpose of clarity and space. Relevant photos as well as photo of the author may also be sent along with the article. Please send your write-ups to editors@mos.com.np This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )
As the main purpose of the project is to motivate farmers towards organic farming, there are plans to develop the above villages as the model village and encourage farmers in other parts of the country to start the same.
By Deepak R. Poudyal
Now-a-days, organic farming is becoming popular worldwide. Conventional farming using huge quantity of chemicals and pesticides are harmful to the environment and human health. People are now conscious about it and moving towards organic farming.
Organic farming is not a new concept of agriculture in Nepal. In ancient times, the farmers had engaged in this farming and gained a lot of knowledge on it. The prime aim of organic farming is applying/using natural materials in agriculture and prohibiting the use of the chemical fertilizers and pesticides which ultimately ruins the land.
The development of Science and Technology has made huge changes in various sectors resulting in tremendous development in the world economy. Agriculture is such a sector which has played vital role in this regard. Different countries of the world became successful in mass production in agriculture by applying the latest technology, chemical fertilizers and pesticides, thus raising their economic standard. The immense use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides has been the usual practice of modern farming in most of the countries for growing agricultural production. This practice has also been a compulsion for all to increase agricultural production and feed their ever increasing population. However, though this has solved the problem for now, it does not bode well for the future with the point of view of human health and destruction of eco-system of the globe. The heavy use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides has affected and will certainly affect, directly and indirectly, the surrounding land, water, flora and fauna and insects and animals.
With the use of chemical fertilizers, in the beginning, there is a huge increase in production from the land, but after a while of regular use, the production capacity of the land decreases reaching to a point where one day the production capacity may reach zero – resulting in cascading economic problems and lack of food in certain areas.
Though it may take a while to embrace organic farming, we must surely move in that direction. The move has slowly begun in Nepal with some farmers embracing it. The government of Nepal is also paying attention towards this and making various programs in this direction.
"Going Organic from School to Home" is a project launched to educate the community and students of Sankhu Suntole VDC Ward No. 8 Palubari and Ward No 9 Bishambhara about the benefit of organic farming and supported by Poverty Alleviation Fund (PAF), Nepal.
A memorandum of agreement was made with Poverty Alleviation Fund (PAF) and Hoste Hainse in July 2008 to run the project in the above villages. The main objective of the project is to:
• provide appropriate training and informational resources to the community about the sustainable practices of organic farming
• educate the community about the effects of conventional farming on their health and the environment
• integrate a new curriculum focusing primarily on key issues such as safe and sustainable farming practices, nutrition, health, usage of clean water, environmental science and global climate change
• provide hands on lesson and activities to the community of Sankhu and surrounding areas
• provide vocational training about organic farming to the students of Sankhu Palubari Community School grade six to eighth
• train the villagers about organic farming so that it helps every individual and the overall community to generate income source for their survival
When the project started, it began creating awareness about organic farming in the community for the improvement of the livelihoods and environment. Different training was provided to farmers taking up organic farming.
At the same time, various awareness programmes were initiated. Project staff and volunteers visited the households of Palubari and Bishambhara villages informing people about the project activities and the advantages of organic farming. Hoarding boards were prepared with the purpose of disseminating information to the farmers about seasonal vegetables for organic farming.
Nineteen organic groups have been formed so far. A model community farm and training centre has been established in Palubari village. A community resource and information centre (CRIC) has also been set up. The CRIC is also used as an office by the project staff as well as a training room and informal education classroom for the community.
One of the most important achievements of the project is the initiation of Sankhu Palubari Cooperative Limited that has started providing micro-loans to the needy people for organic farming, at a very low interest rate. So far, the cooperative has provided loans to 45 farmers of the area.
A draft of organic farming curriculum for grade six to eighth school students has been made with the coordination of the Curriculum Development Centre. The Curriculum Development Centre has made assurance that the draft will be finalized and implemented by next academic year as far as possible.
Four organic clubs have been formed in the schools of Sankhu Palubari and Bishambhara with the purpose of teaching students about the advantages of organic farming, as well as creating awareness about the environment. Additionally, the process to form these types of clubs in other schools of the surrounding areas has begun.
Sankhu Palubari Community School students and their teachers also visit the training centre on a weekly basis. These types of visits assist in the hands on training aspect of the organic farming curriculum for the students. Meanwhile, informal classes on organic farming have also begun at the training centre.
Sankhu Palubari Cooperative Ltd has also started collecting various types of non-pesticide vegetables from the community people of Sankhu and selling them in the market of Kathmandu city.
As the main purpose of the project is to motivate farmers towards organic farming, there are plans to develop the above villages as the model village and encourage farmers in other parts of the country to start the same.
(Poudyal is a Masters Degree holder in information and communication science from India. Presently he is engaged as team leader of the above project and can be reached at poudyaldr@hotmail.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )
(Editor’s Note: Nepalis, wherever they live, as well as friends of Nepal around the globe are requested to contribute their views/opinions/recollections etc. on issues concerning present day Nepal to the Guest Column of Nepalnews. Length of the article should not be more than 1,000 words and may be edited for the purpose of clarity and space. Relevant photos as well as photo of the author may also be sent along with the article. Please send your write-ups to editors@mos.com.np This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )