Nepal: Security Guards Farming with ‘Plastic Mulching’

Nepal A 41-year-old resident of Surkit District in Karnali Province, located in the Midwest, is one of the Nepalese who recently India They are farming in their village following returning from

Talking to Independent Urdu, Bahadur Gurti said that in 2001, he left everything and went to India to earn a living and returned to his farm following working there for years. planting work Started doing what they had left years ago.

From 2001 to 2016, I worked as a security guard in different cities of India, which made it difficult to run a house, but I returned in 2021, but due to lack of work here, I was asked to go back from time to time. But for the last one to two years, I have been living here permanently and now I am earning double the profit compared to there by farming in my house.’

About two years ago, his brother, who himself had spent years working in India, started farming with the help of ‘ICI Mode’, an organization working on modern agriculture instead of traditional farming. Which surprisingly solved the problem of drought and produced good quality compared to other areas. Season Started meeting. Seeing all this, the brave braves also left the work in India and started farming permanently.

When I saw my brother, I also started cultivating my land which I had not cultivated for years and under this special method I got double the profit compared to the Indian labor on the first harvest. Now, for the last one and a half years, I have been living in the same house and earning twice as much profit from there.’

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According to the census of 2021 in Nepal, regarding 30 lakh people of this country with a population of more than two crore 91 lakh are working in different cities of India, of which regarding 10 lakh are Nepalis due to lack of proper employment in their country. Permanently migrated to India.

Tak Bahadur says that using the new method ‘plastic mulching’ has given them many benefits.

It keeps the roots of the plants moist as well as maintains their temperature. Secondly, if there is too much water in the rainy season, it does not allow it to accumulate. It keeps it safe and because the leaves of the plant do not touch the ground, fungi and other diseases do not occur.

Thuk Bahadur said that due to the healthy and fresh nature of his crop produced through this particular method, he gets a good price compared to the normal prices in the market.

Dr. Abid Hussain, a member of ICIMOD (International Center for Integrated Mountain Development), an organization consisting of eight countries (Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, China, Nepal, Myanmar, Bhutan and Bangladesh) working on the Hindu Kush Himalaya region, says that Along with combating climate change, positive results can only be achieved by supporting non-traditional farmers and understanding climate change.

Crops should be selected according to the ecological condition (crops that are compatible with the environment), in areas where there is water but in small amounts, such small solutions are used, rainwater is collected. By building small dams to store water when it rains and mulching to retain soil moisture, these are small practices like how we knit a sweater. can be changed in the system.’

Dr. Abid Hussain says that the impact of climate change may not be on a large scale, but it can be countered by adopting specific methods for combating and solving it, one of which is plastic mulching.

Climate change is a global issue, its effects can be on a large scale, but the method of its solution is specific, depending on the context, you have to take steps to solve it. How to eliminate it is falling on the agricultural sector, mulching is a special solution, in areas where climate change causes drought, there is a shortage of water, there is no rain for a long time, there is no irrigation system, you have water. Mulching is used to maintain the soil in the soil, mulching can be natural or plastic, especially for vegetables, but we can also use it for fruits and other crops.

About 64% of Nepal’s 22 lakh hectares of cultivated land is mostly dependent on monsoon rains. Quite impressed.

But due to ICI mode and other organizations working on agriculture, people are now getting attracted towards non-traditional methods, technology and climate change farming.