The heat is undeniable these days. Some say it’s part of “global warming“, others suspect smog pollutants to be the cause, still others point to a regional cycle of climate change. But in either case, the weather over Nepal is warming up, and what’s worse for farmers: it’s also getting a lot drier. The annual […]
What’s the annual budget for public education in Nepal? Well, this year it’s 80 billion rupees – four times the budget for agriculture, almost three times the budget for health and – in fact – far above the budget for any other development sector in the country. Perhaps it’s not a big budget compared to […]
In few countries are remittances – money sent home by migrant workers – more important to people’s economy than in Nepal. Indeed, there is no competing with Tajikistan: here remittances constitute 48 percent of GDP, and in the Kyrgyz Republic the figure is 31 percent. But in a third position comes Nepal where remittances make […]
“Aver Top – what’s in it?” We were back at the pesticide shop in Panchkhal. The owner was passing a bottle of insecticide over the counter – one we hadn’t seen before – and a local farmer was making the purchase. He was unable to read the label but the shop owner could explain: “The […]
“What’s the small bags over there?” We were checking out the shelves at a pesticide shop in Panchkhal. There were hundreds of bottles lined up along the walls behind the counter. In front of one of the attractive looking rows of small containers were some innocent looking bags with the label: “Looper”. A farmer had […]
“What are you spraying?” We just had a chat with Thulimaya Tamang about farming and now she was getting her pesticide kit ready. Time to dust the vegetables, she explained, or pest might get the better of them. She showed us the pesticide bottle: “Badal 76” it read. We had seen it many times in […]
