Supporting a shift towards organic farming: view of Panchkaal valley
Before joining the project: farmer telling about how she sprays.
We will get started applying for funding as soon as the farmers express readiness to continue with the project. If we get a budget, the farmers will receive trainings at three established organic farms – two in Kavre and one in Bhaktapur – to try and explore organic farming on their own land. Panchkaal is a valley where use of chemical fertilizer and pesticides has exploded over the last decade: proximity to the market in Kathmandu has made intensive farming very attractive! But farmers are having second thoughts…
Farmers in Panchkaal tell about the downside of the hybrid package.
The “hybrid package” has come at no small cost to sustainable farming in Panchkaal in the long term. Watch this group interview with farmers for a break-down of the problems. Will farmers immediately begin practicing organic farming in light of issues like deteriorating soil quality and polluted water ways? Far from it, probably. But the group of farmers in Panchkaal who have decided to join this project are interested to learn more – and so, on the other side of the devastation from the earthquake, hopefully they will be able to start trying out the organic alternative.
Interested to know more about the organic farming project or share comments? Feel free to contact us here!
PS: The idea for the project initially came from reading the labels on the pesticide bottles in Panchkaal. Here are just three examples:
Toxic encounter: opening a bottle of “Aver Top”
Pesticide shopping: Inside a bag of “Looper”
No mask, no gloves: Spraying “Badal 76 – Dichlorvos”
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