Status of Agro biodiversity at Parwanipur, Bara, Nepal

-Akash Gupta (Roll No.08)

Introduction:

Parwanipur is located at Bara District of Nepal in the southern plains. It is nearby Birgunj, the economic capital & gateway to Nepal. Like other Nepalese agrarian community, the major source of income of this area is Agriculture, followed by service in different factories located nearby. The area is Nepal’s smallest rural municipality too. With increment in number of factories in the Birgunj-Pathlaiya corridor, the arable land proportion is gradually decreasing. Similarly, the pollution created by the factories is causing climate change. The ground water of the area is sharply decreasing & arsenic in water can be easily tasted due to excessive ground water usage by industries in this area. Hence, all these scenarios in a way or two have impacted agriculture of the area negatively.

Visiting the vegetable market of Parwanipur Rural Municipality for agrobiodiversity assessment.

The richness of an agriculture community is indicated by the diversity of agricultural crops the place posses. The agricultural biodiversity serves as an important tool for plant breeding, plant improvement & productivity enhancement. It plays a crucial part in ensuring food security. Though such diverse varieties may not have high productivity but being adapted to a particular domain, they possess resistant genes & give fair production consistently. While the productivity consistency of hybrids or foreign varieties are not guaranteed & we often come to hear about crop failures & floral sterility of such crops. Few years, around 5000 ha of maize field didn’t bear a single cob in different places of Bara District. Apart from these, their seeds are expensive & beyond reach of common farmer. Similarly, the local crops are resistant to insects & diseases. Thus, presence & usage of local agro biodiversity has economic as well as productive benefit.

Status of Agrobiodiversity:

In context of Parwanipur, the agro biodiversity status is neither too high nor too low; it is of mediocre type. However, being located nearby Regional Agriculture Research Station & Sugarcane Research programs, various genotypes of various crops have been preserved by the gene banks there. Most of them are still under cultivation at farmer level too. There is no community level gene bank in the area. Farmers have been cultivating the seeds of preceding year as seed for next season. However, some sort of selection at field level based on number of grains, size of grains is age long practice of the area. The major agronomic crops grown in this area are Rice, Wheat, Maize, Lentil, Flax, Amaranthus, Potato, Sugarcane and Mustard. In horticultural aspects, vegetables like Tomato, cowpea, cucumber, bottle gourd, ash gourd, pointed gourd, Ivy gourd, Rapeseed & mustard greens, spinach, amaranth green, Beans etc & fruit like Mango, Litchi, Guava, Papaya, Custard Apple, Badahar, etc are found.

1. Food Crop Diversity

The agro biodiversity status of such crops at Parwanipur is given below:

1. Rice (6 varieties): Mansuli, Sona Mansuli, Anandi, Sethi, Katarni, Basmati
2. Wheat (3 varieties): Local, Aditya, Vijay
3. Maize (3 varieties): Rampur Composite, Makwanpur, Local
4. Lentil (1 vareity): Masuri
5. Pigeon Pea (1 vareity): Rahar
6. Flax (1 vareity): Badka Tisi
7. Potato (2 varieties): Lalka, Ujarka, Janakdev
8. Amaranthus (1 vareity): Ramdana
9. Sugarcane (3 varieties): Jitpur-1, Jitpur-2, Jitpur-3
10. Mustard (2 varieties): Tori, Sarso
11. Tomato (3 varieties): Srijana, Lamka, Chotka, Latrauwa
12. Ivy Gourd (1 variety): Khurduni
13. Ash Gourd (1 variety): Ujarka
14. Bottle Gourd (1 variety): Golka
15. Cucumber (2 varieties): Local, Kathmandu Local
16. Beans (3 varieties): Chaputka, Lamka, Jhanga
17. Mango (3 varieties): Sabja, Dasheri, Maldev
18. Guava (2 variety): Lal Gudda, Safed Gudda
19. Papaya (1 variety): Bar masiya
20. Custard Apple (1 variety): Sitafal
21. Litchi (1 variety): Mujaffarpur

Hence, all together, about 40 different agriculturally important crop varieties are found in Parwanipur.

2. Fish Diversity

Parwanipur is also rich in aquatic resources. The sirisia river, swampy area & rice fields of Parwanipur are home to indigenous fishes like Tengra, Pothiya, Sipia. The fishes like common carp, bighead carp, silver carp, tilapia, catla, rohu are also reared in ponds.

3. Livestock Diversity

Similarly, breeds of goat available at Parwanipur comprise of Black Bengal and Khari. Sheeps of Lampuchhre are preferred by the people. The exotic milch breeds of cows like Holstein Freisian, Jersey, Haryana are available. The buffalo community comprises of Murrah mainy. Parwanipur lacks indigenous livestock breeds.

Conclusion:

Parwanipur is moderately rich in agro biodiversity scenario. However, due to lack of gene banks, shrinkage of agricultural lands & climate change, the existing biodiversity resource are at risk. The concerned authorities must keep an eye to this striking problem.

References:

a. Village Profile, Parwanipur Municipality-2078

b. Interview & Interaction with Parwanipur Farmers

c. Vegetable & Meat Market Visit, Parwanipur

Way Forward for Nepalese Agriculture: Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Sustainability

Agriculture has been Nepal’s culture from ages. Growing crops & rearing animals is something almost everybody does in Nepal. It contributes 33% of the GDP of Nepal & provides employment to some 65 % of Nepalese (World Bank Report). Despite these amazing stats, the productivity of Nepalese agriculture remains low & is insufficient to feed its own people. Nepal imports almost everything from neighboring countries while exports almost nothing in form of some exotic herbs (cardamom, tea, coffee, ginger, yarsagumba), some fruits & fruit products plus few garments to the EU nations; thus resulting in huge trade deficit of 1133 million USD (2014/15, DoA, Nepal). Meanwhile, our agriculture work force is heading abroad & we are facing labor shortage. The country’s economy is getting heavily reliant in remittances; about 9.1% of total GDP of Nepal & the coming days are no different. It is sheer pity to tell that way forward is very tough for Nepalese Agriculture but not impossible. A couple of few steps & we can reach right up there. Let me take you through this article.

Let’s talk about some basic agricultural needs: water, seed, fertilizer & labor. We are world’s second richest country in terms of water resources but, where is the water? We are not getting sufficient water to even drink. Water is very crucial for agriculture. So, our primary step should be allocation & utilization of every drop of water available with innovations like drip irrigation system, harvesting rainwater, constructing deep borings & reusing household waste water. An analysis shows that introduction of quality seeds only; leaving other variables constant can increase production by 15%. Our country doesn’t have a single fertilizer manufacturing company. How are we supposed to grow crops here? Eventually, we don’t get access to quality seeds & adequate synthetic fertilizers. But, there are innovative ways with which we can tackle these. We can use animal manure, convert household, industrial & agricultural waste to vermicompost, use biofertilizers, adopt zero tillage/minimum tillage & integrated farming approach.

Agriculture is labor intensive profession. It needs a great bit of human effort. It is a tiring job. This is the major reason people are leaving agriculture profession. Thus, our second step should be mechanization in Agriculture. Subsidized distribution of hand held tractors, river based irrigation system & other high tech machineries will not only cut down human labor requirement but also make the high labor intensive work easier, quick, cheap & simplified.

The third but most crucial factor in Agriculture is its economy. Despite engulfing higher investment & labor intensive job, it pays less & assumed inferior compared to other jobs. This has to change if we have to take any step forward. There has to be initiation of agriculture insurance & finance facility; that too at reasonable rates. The agriculture commodities travel through a chain of middlemen to reach the consumer’s table at higher price from the farmer’s field. The farmers can initiate innovative entrepreneur steps like home delivery, growing organically for added value, create a unique secret product(s), learn methods of value addition at poor market price conditions; like milk to ghee/butter, veggies to pickles/chips, fruits to candy/chips/jam, etc & create own brand say “TARKARIwala” or collaborate with existing ventures. The farmers should now aim big, take calculated risks, rise above from subsistence agriculture & step into the commercial arena targeting potential markets.

The key to all these steps is patience, quick action & sustainable approach. We cannot change things with the blink of an eye. Let the changes take some time but remain sustainable. The way forward for Nepalese agriculture relies on how its people will tackle the problems with their innovative mind, bring the best out of it through entrepreneurship & how sustainably the existing resources are utilized by themselves rather than relying on stakeholders. The road is tough but scholars say, “Tough Roads Lead to Beautiful Destinations”. This holds good for Nepal too. At the very moment, we need to focus on attaining self sufficient status only; which would be a huge accomplishment in itself & can uplift Nepalese economy single handedly.

बेथे साग कि झार?

विश्वासै नलाग्ने कुरा के छ भने परापूर्व कालदैखिनै तराई, पहाड र उपत्यकाहरुमा उपभोग हुदै आएको स्वादिष्ट र पोसिलो “बेथेको साग” एककिसिमको जङ्गली झार पो रहेछ। यसको वैज्ञानिक नाम Cenopodium album हो। बोलचालमा त यसलाई अन्य नामहरुले पनि बोलाइन्छ जस्तै Lambs quarters, Fat hen, Goose foot, Missouri lambsquarters आदि। भारतमा यसलाई “बथुवा” र नेवारीमा “ई-कोन्छा” पनि भनिन्छ।

फलामे युग देखी नै शिकारीहरुले यसलाई बटुली हरियो जंगली घासको रुपमा प्रयोग गर्थे। वनस्पतिविज्ञ अनुसार पाचौ शताब्दीमा चाइनिज सम्पदामा यसको प्रयोग भएको देखिन्छ। पूर्व युरोप र एशियामा बेथेलाई सागको रुपमा अपनाइयो। त्यसपछि यसको बिस्तार नर्थ अमेरिका, अफ्रिका र अस्ट्रेलियामा पनि भयो। नेपोलिएन बोनापर्टेले खानाको कमि हुदा बेथेको विउबाट बनाईएको रोटी आफ्ना यात्रुहरुलाई दिएका थिए भनि ईतिहासकारहरु दावी गर्छन्।

“बारीमा नचाहिने पाहुना”, जुन समशीतोष्ण तथा उष्णदेशीय क्षेत्रहरुमा व्यापक रूपमा पाइने यो नेपालमा खास गरि दुई प्रजातिको हुन्छ।
क. लोकल प्रजाति = ठाडो काण्ड भएको उचाई ९-१० इन्च र सानो पात भएको । यो प्रजाति पहाडी क्षेत्रमा पाइन्छ।
ख. देशी प्रजाति = तराईमा पाईने, यसको उचाई १.५ मिटर सम्म हुन्छ। यो रोडको छेउमा, घरको बारि, आली आदि ठाँउमा पाइन्छ। यसको पात लामो हुन्छ।

खासगरी गहुँ, आलु, चुकन्दर, तोरी र दलहन खेतहरुमा यसको मात्रा धेरै हुन्छ। यसको वृद्धि र विकास वसन्त मौसमका तरकारीहरु सङ्गसङ्गै हुन्छ त्यसैले यसको प्रकोप जाडो महिनामा व्यापक हुन्छ।
व्यस्क भएपछी आफै रोपिने र उम्रने भएकाले यो व्यापक रुपमा जताततै पाईन्छ। एउटा बिरुवाले कम्तिमा १००००० कालो र अतीसानो विउ उत्पादन गर्ने गर्छ। यस कारण जाडोयाममा खेतहरु बेथेले भरिभराउ देखिन्छन। पात हरियो र दाँतेदार हुन्छ। काण्ड भने जरातिर गुलाबि र फेद तिर हरियो खालको हुन्छ। यसको फूल खैरौ अथवा हरियो रङ्गको हुन्छ। यसको दानेदार फल पातको फेदबाट उम्रिन्छ र टुप्पोमा सोली आकारको झुप्पा भइ बस्छ। कम पानी र चिस्यानमा पनि सजिलोसँग उम्रन सक्ने छमता भएको यसको बोट बलौटे माटो बाहेक अन्य कुनै पनि माटोमा सजिलै उम्रिन्छ।

बेथेको बिभिन्न प्रयोग:

१) सागको रुपमा
बेथेको साग पालुङ्गोको सागझै पकाएर खान सकिन्छ। गुणस्तर युक्त १०० ग्राम सागमा पानी(७९.६%), प्रोटीन (३.८%), क्याल्सियम (१५%), चिल्लो (०.४%), खनिज (२.३%), फस्फोरस (७%), फलाम, भिटामिन ए, भिटामिन बि, भिटामिन डि, राइबोफ्लाभिन, थाएमिन जस्ता पौस्टिक तत्वहरु पाइन्छ। यसको सेवनले आमाशयलाई बलियो बनाउछ, रक्तअल्पताबाट बचाउछ, आखाँको ज्योति तेज बनाउछ, कब्जियत हटाउछ, पेटको जुका मार्छ, कलेजो को तातोपन(कमलपित्त) लाई घटाउछ, रक्तकोषको विकास गर्छ, मृगौलामा भएको पथरी हटाउछ र खोकी – क्षयरोगबाट बचाउछ।

२) पशुपन्क्षिको खानाको रुपमा
बेथेको पात र दानालाई गाई, भैसी, बाख्रा, कुखुरा, हास, परेवा आदि जिवजन्तुहरुलाई खुवाइन्छ। यसले उनीहरुको शारिरीक विकास र रोगप्रतीरोधात्मकलाई प्रबल बनाउनका साथै दानामा लाग्ने खर्चको न्युनिकरण पनि गर्छ।

३) प्राचिन कला र रङ्गमा
बेथेको रस हरियो रङ्गको हुन्छ। यसको रसलाई भित्ते कला बनाउन मुख्य मिश्रणको रुपमा प्रयोग गरिन्छ। हिन्दु संस्कृति र मिथिला चित्रकलामा यसको व्यापक प्रयोग भएको छ।

४) आकर्षण बाली (Trap Crop)
बेथेले पात छेदक (Leaf Miners) भन्ने किरालाई आकर्षित गर्छ र हाम्रो मुख्य बालीलाई यसबाट बचाउछ। बेथेले Curly Top Virus संक्रमण गर्ने चुकन्दर फट्याङ्गरा (Beet Hopper) को पाहुना बोट (Host Plant) को भुमिका निर्वाह गर्छ र चुकन्दरलाई रोगबाट बचाउछ।

५)आयुर्वेदिक औषधि पद्दतीमा
पेट दुख्ने, झाडापखाला, हाडजोर्नि दुख्ने, जले- कटेको ठाउमा मल्हमको रुपमा, स्वेतप्रदर (Leucorrhoea), कमलपित्त, रक्तअल्पता आदि बिभिन्न रोगको निवारण गर्नकालागि बेथेको बिभिन्न भागको प्रयोग गरिन्छ।

६) आर्थिक आम्दानी
नेपालको थुप्रै ठुला सहर जस्तै काठमाडौं, बुटवल, विरगन्ज, चितवन, दाङ आदि सहरहरुमा मन्छेहरु यसको बिभिन्न स्वादिष्ट परिकार बनाइ सेवन गर्ने गर्छन्। यी सहरहरुमा किसानहरु बेथेको सागलाई प्रती मुठा रु १५-४० सम्म बेच्ने गरेका छन्। त्यसैले बेथेबाट राम्रो आम्दनि लिन सकिन्छ। विकसित देशहरुमा यसको बिजबाट तेल पेरेर बिक्री गरि औषधिको रुपमा प्रयोग गरिन्छ।

यति धेरै प्रयोग भएपनि यो मुख्यत एक जङ्गलि झारको रुपमा लिइन्छ किनकी यसको बिनाशकारी र विस्तारवादी प्रकृतिले गर्दा गहुबाली, मकैबाली, भटमास, आलु, चुकन्दर, तेलहन र दलहन बालीहरुको उत्पादनमा ठुलो क्षती पुर्याएको छ। बेथेले प्रति वर्ष मकैमा १३%, गहुमा २०-२५%, भटमासमा २५%, चुकन्दरमा ४८%, दलहन बालिमा ३०-७०% सम्म उत्पादनमा नोक्सान गरेको पाइन्छ। आलुमा जुका(nematods)को मात्रा बढाएर यसको विकासमा हानी पुर्याएको देखिन्छ। यसले मुख्य बालीहरुसङ पोषण, पानी, सुर्यको प्रकाश, मल र सूक्ष्म तत्व आदिको लागि प्रतिस्पर्धा गर्ने गर्छ। यसको परागले मनिसमा एलर्जी गराउने पनि पाईएको छ।

यसको न्युनिकरणका लागी बिभिन्न क्षेत्रमा भिन्न प्रयासहरु भईरहेका छन्। केहि तरिका हरु यस प्रकार छन्:

१) खेतीगर्ने तरिकाको परिमार्जन
डार्क टिलेज (Dark Tillage), रोटरी होइङ (Rotary Hoeing), फ्लेमिंग (Flaming), मल्चिङ (Mulching), बाली परिक्रमा (Crop Rotation)

२) रासायनिक तरिका (नयाँ बेथेका पलुवा पलाउनु भन्दा पहिला छर्ने)
Alfalon(अल्फालोन), Buracyl(बुरासिल), Linuron(लिनुरोन), Sulfan(सल्फान), Decamba(डिकाम्बा), A- Caulina (जैविक झारनासक)

समग्रमा भन्नुपर्दा, प्रयोगको प्रकृति अनुसार, बेथे साग र झार दुवै हो। तर, यसको विधिवत खेती नगरिएको हुनाले यसलाई झार भन्नुनै उपयुक्त होला।

लेखक: धनीराज कोहार, कृषि तथा वन विज्ञान विश्वविद्यालय, रामपुर, चितवन

Oyster Mushroom Cultivation

Introduction

• Oyster mushroom is scientifically known as Pleurotus ostreatus.
• They are most cultivated edible mushrooms in the world.
• Oyster mushrooms are suited to tropical & temperate conditions.
• Oyster mushroom can be cultivated on Steamed Straws (mostly in Nepal), Saw Dusts, Maize Cobs after removing grains, Rice Bran, Wheat Bran, Wheat Straw, etc.
• Naturally, they are found growing on hardwood trees & conifers too.
• They are rarely found associated to herbaceous plants (Except P. eryngii).
• Oyster mushroom cultivation is done in Early Winter in Nepal condition and spans to a period of two months.
• Marketable production starts from 2nd month.

Materials Required

• A black plastic tunnel house (to avoid sunlight) made of bamboo (being cheap) or a house (cemented/mud cemented) that can be maintained in complete shade.
• Disinfectants like Formaldehyde, Rectified Spirit, Phenyl.
• Rice Straw as substrate cut into small finger size by chaff cutter.
• Mushroom Spawn (Seeds) from NARC, Khumaltar (Recommended).
• Drum (×2) for steaming the cut Rice Straw.
• Drum Size Circular Iron Net tied by two strong sticks.
• Bricks, Jute Strings, A pencil size pointed twig, Black Plastic Film.
• Mushroom plastic bags of size12”×26” or 16”×26”.
• Wooden Stove or Kerosene Stove for heating.
• Buckets, Mugs, Broom, Plastic Sacs as required.

Step 1: Disinfection of Shade House

• Clean the house or place with broom where mushroom is to be cultivated.
• It is most important step on which production is dependent.
• For temporary tunnel houses uproot grasses & other weeds & use agricultural lime by broadcasting them on ground.
• For cemented houses, clean the floor & walls with 10% formaldehyde solution/ 10% Phenyl solution.
• Make sure the room is free from insects.
• After cleaning, leave 4 mugs of formaldehyde solution on each corner for fumigation up to 3-4 days.

Step 2: Collection & Cutting of Straw

• The Rice Straw; preferably straight ones is collected.
• The straight ones can be easily transported & cut.
• They are now cut by a chaff cutter or by a local khukhuri as available.
• Small finger size pieces are preferred.
• Chaff Cutter gives uniform pieces; hence it should be used as far as possible.

Step 3: Steaming the Rice Straw

• Soak the cut rice straw for a minimum of 5 hours in a drum with water.
• On another drum, stack a pile of 3-4 bricks in a triangular fashion.
• Now, on the triangular base, keep the circular iron net tied to a stick and make it movable from beneath by tying 4 long jute strings on four sides of the net.
• Now, put the setup with stability on the stove.
• Fill the drum with water up to the level of bricks.
• Then, pile the soaked straw directly into the drum or by keeping them in a plastic sack & then into drum.
• Cover the top of the drum tightly via plastic film & heat till ½ hour after steam starts coming.

Step 4: Mushroom Packing

• After steaming, the straw are put on a clean, disinfected & even floor for drying as hot straw can kill our spawn.
• To test whether the steamed straw is well dried or not, we hold them in our fist and pressurize them with fingers. It no water comes out of fist, then it is fully dried and ready for packing.
• Now, disinfect hands with rectified spirit before packing.
• Take a mushroom plastic bag and pile some straw tightly in it up to 10cm giving a cylindrical shape.
• Then, put the mushroom spawn on the edges and make a layer of it.
• Follow the later two steps repeatedly till the bag is full and tie its open very tightly with jute strings. The packing be very compact.
• Now, pierce some holes (up to16; randomly) with pencil size pointed twig.

Step 5 : Stacking of Packed Plastic Bags

• The packed bags must be preferably hanged with plastic strings from a rigid support in tetrad shape by four strings & making a stack of 4-5 floors of plastics bags with a tight string tied in between them.
• We can also use bamboo or iron rods 2 in number and held together above ground with bricks beneath them as supports.
• It is essential to keep them above ground for avoiding contacts with rodents, competitive fungus and ground insects.

Step 5 : After Care & Harvest

• The Oyster Mushroom needs solitary environment for its growth and production. Hence, any bags contaminated are culled out immediately.
• The major symptoms of contamination and infection are greenish demarcation and black patches which are mainly due to competitive moulds like Trichiderma, Verticillium, etc.
• Check out for rodents attack as they tear the packed plastic bags for eating the straw.
• Check out for insects attacks if any, find the cause & eliminate them as well.
• After 3-4 weeks the bags are fully covered with hyphal mass and look whitish in color and sometimes even give rise to basidias.
• After this stage the bags are either fully removed or given long cuts at 4 to 5 places. After 1-2 weeks more, they are marketable.
• At this stage, regular mist irrigation at an interval of 2-3 days is given. After they attain palm size growth, they are detached & packed for selling in market.

Written By:
Akash Gupta
Bachelor of Science in Agriculture
Agriculture & Forestry University
Central Campus, Rampur, Chitwan

The World’s Top Nutritious Foods

Imagine the ideal food. One that contains all the nutrients necessary to meet, but not exceed, our daily nutrient demands. If such a food existed, consuming it, without eating any other, would provide the optimal nutritional balance for our body.

Such a food does not exist. But we can do the next best thing.

The key is to eat a balance of highly nutritional foods, that when consumed together, do not contain too much of any one nutrient, to avoid exceeding daily recommended amounts.

Scientists studied more than 1,000 foods, assigning each a nutritional score. The higher the score, the more likely each food would meet, but not exceed your daily nutritional needs, when eaten in combination with others.

These are the  top 10 most nutritious food:

1. Almond (बदाम)

579kcal, $0.91, per 100g

Rich in mono-unsaturated fatty acids. Promote cardiovascular health and may help with diabetes.

NUTRITIONAL SCORE: 97

2. Cherimoya

75kcal, $1.84, per 100g

Cherimoya fruit is fleshy and sweet with a white pulp. Rich in sugar and vitamins A, C, B1, B2 and potassium.

NUTRITIONAL SCORE: 96

3. Ocean Perch

79kcal, $0.82, per 100g

The Atlantic species. A deep-water fish sometimes called rockfish. High in protein, low in saturated fats.

NUTRITIONAL SCORE: 89

4. Flat Fish

70kcal, $1.15, per 100g

Sole and flounder species. Generally free from mercury and a good source of the essential nutrient vitamin B1.

NUTRITIONAL SCORE: 88

5. Chia Seeds (बाबरीको बीऊ)

486kcal, $1.76, per 100g

Tiny black seeds that contain high amounts of dietary fibre, protein, a-linolenic acid, phenolic acid and vitamins.

NUTRITIONAL SCORE: 85

6. Pumpkin Seeds (फर्सीको बीऊ)

559kcal, $1.60, per 100g

Including the seeds of other squashes. One of the richest plantbased sources of iron and manganese.

NUTRITIONAL SCORE: 84

7. Swiss Chard (पालुंगो)

19kcal, $0.29, per 100g

A very rare dietary source of betalains, phytochemicals thought to have antioxidant and other health properties.

NUTRITIONAL SCORE: 78

8. Pork Fat (सुंगुरको व्वंसो)

632kcal, $0.95, per 100g

A good source of B vitamins and minerals. Pork fat is more unsaturated and healthier than lamb or beef fat.

NUTRITIONAL SCORE: 73

9. Beet Greens (चुकुंदरको साग)

22kcal, $0.48, per 100g

The leaves of beetroot vegetables. High in calcium, iron, vitamin K and B group vitamins (especially riboflavin).

NUTRITIONAL SCORE: 70

10. Snapper

100kcal, $3.75, per 100g

A family of mainly marine fish, with red snapper the best known. Nutritious but can carry dangerous toxins.

NUTRITIONAL SCORE: 69

(Adapted from bbc.com)

 

 

 

Youth, Agriculture Transformation and Entrepreneurship

Agriculture is not just growing eatables; it is way of life, basis of survival of mankind. The agricultural practices have evolved way far from conventional methods to high tech farming systems all around the globe to some extent. But, majority of agriculture still lies in those remote areas of the world where a farmer toils hard in sun lacking proper tools and techniques; as a result his production is low, his produces doesn’t get the price it deserves and moreover, his profession is dejected in society to some extent. Agriculture, as easy it seems, is not so; it is a work of patience, dedication and a lot of sweat. Now, with population increasing exponentially and agricultural lands shrinking in name of modernization and development, it will be impossible to feed the people of the world in coming days amidst such harsh scenarios. Worldwide, average age of farmers is 60 years with farmer’s life expectancy of only 70 years; so to say, we are leaving the burden of assuring food security in hands of comparatively incapable population. With farmers sacrificing rural life and farming by hugging urbanization, the task is more hectic. Only way forward is AGRICULTURAL TRANSFORMATION and only way it can happen is youth getting involved in it.

Youth are a significant group in the world. They include the people with age group 15-24 years, comprising nearly 1.1 billion and account for about 18% of global population. An estimated 75 million youths worldwide are in state of unemployment. Yet, youth involvement in agriculture is found to be low. The challenge to Agriculture Transformation is that the majority of youth don’t want to become a farmer; given the fact that agriculture needs a lot of effort and it is less rewarding occupation. Even though, one has put all his hard work, he is not assured of his production and income as a lot of risk is involved right from production to its place in market. So, why would a youth take up such occupation? This is a major reason why youths are preferring other ways of earning a living. To add misery, the initial investment in a well equipped farm is way too high and although one overcomes it, where would one farm, as the agricultural lands are shrinking and availability of land on lease is inadequate. This is the major sector we have to address to involve youth to bring about agricultural transformation.

It has been found that near about 1.1 billion people are involved in agricultural sector (World Bank, 2014), where share of youth population is incredibly low. The time has come where youth needs to step in agriculture and create an impact. It is high time where a youth need not go and search a job, but involve in agriculture and become a job provider rather than job seekers. Technically, become an ENTERPRENEUR. What needs to be aided to youth population in this regard are:

1. Agricultural Education

The group, called “NEET” (not in education, employment or training), often constitutes at least 10% of the youth population, and disproportionally includes youth with a low level of education in developed economies. This has to be improved to attain given aim of agricultural transformation. For this, agricultural education can be included in school curriculum to attract young people.

2. Development of Agricultural Skill

Agriculture is a science as well as an art. So, agricultural education needs to be aided with vocational trainings and directives to implement them. Ability to operate new and high tech mechanical devices is essential too.

3. Business Oriented Attitude

A farmer stays poor all along his life as he lacks business attitude and his share of profit gets divided among many middle men. So, this is the major area where entrepreneurship should come to play and there is no one better than intellectual youth to step in.

4. Access to Land, Credit, High-tech Machineries and Agricultural Inputs

High initial investment and poor mechanization are major constraints for youth’s involvement in agriculture. Though one has ample education, skill and business attitude, one cannot embrace agriculture with empty pockets. This is the most important area where world bodies like FAO, ILO, World Bank and national governmental agencies should focus on by providing credit at least interest, focus on mechanization, quality seeds, breeds and fertilizers.

In a nutshell, youth entrepreneurs are the drivers of agricultural transformation. Only thing that needs to be imparted to them is the message that “Agriculture is the most rewarding sector with endless possibilities. Prosperity through agriculture is possible. If anyone can bring it, it’s only and only them.”

Written By:

Akash Gupta

B.Sc.Ag, 5th Batch F.O.A,

A.F.U., Rampur, Chitwan

नेपालको तराईमा धान खेति

नेपाल एउटा कृषि प्रधान देश हो। यहा धान मुख्य बालीको रुपमा खेती गरिन्छ। खानामा पौष्टिक कार्बोहाइड्रेट, प्रोटीन, विटामिन आदिले भरिपूर्ण र यसको विभिन्न परिकार बनाईन्छ।यसबाट उत्पादित खोस्टा ईन्धन तथा कागज बनाउन प्रयोग गरिन्छ।यसको पराल गाईवस्तुको भोजन र मल उत्पादनमा प्रयोग हुन्छ।

धान खेती मुलस्च दुई प्रकारले गरिन्छ:

• बिउ छर्ने

बिउलाई सिधा खेतमा छर्ने रोपाई नगरिकन। यसलाई “छिटा मार्न”,” बोवारी गर्न” अथवा “लाईन सोईङ” पनी भनीन्छ। यसको उत्पादकत्व खर (Weeds) को कारणले गर्दा थोरै  हुन्छ।

• रोपाई गर्ने

नेपालमा रोपाइ गर्ने प्रक्रिया प्रचलित छ। मनसूनमा पानी पर्ने र नदी-नहरको उपलब्धताको कारण तराईमा धान मुख्यत रोप्ने गरिन्छ। तर तराईको पश्चिमी्  क्षेतमा पानीको औधो समस्या पाईन्छ।

चक्रीय बालि प्रणाली अनुसार तराईमा मुख्यत:  धान-गहुको खेती गरिन्छ। गहु काटिसकेपछि किसानहरु खेत सुक्न केही समय दिन्छन् र बाकी रहेको गहुको ठुटो जलाउने गरिन्छ। यसले खेत जोत्न सहज बनाउछ र पोटासीयमको मात्रा बढाउछ (जलाउनु भन्दा खेतमै सडाए उत्पादन बढाएर फाईदा हुन्छ)। त्यसपछि प्रांगारिक मल जस्तै गाई-बस्तुको सढेको गोबर (F.Y.M.), कम्पोस्ट मल आदि प्रयोग गरिन्छ। तर यस्ता मल धेरै मात्रामा प्रयोग गर्नु पर्ने  हुदा र यीनको प्रयोगले गर्दा खासै धेरै उत्पादन नहुने भएकोले

जैविक मल र हरियो मलको प्रयोग न्युन छ। मल छरेको २-१० दिन पछि मल मिलाउने तथा  खेत जोत्ने काम प्रराम्भ हुन्छ। किसानहरुले फाल्गुन देखि जेठ सम्ममा २-५ पटक सम्म खेत जोत्ने गर्छन्। यसका विभिन्न कारणहरु छन्:

क. माटो फुरिलो बनाउन जसले गर्दा मटोले धरै पानी सोश्छ

ख. विनाशकारी खर तथा जीव  नियन्त्रण गर्न

ग.  रोप्न सजिलो बनाउन

जेष्ठको  पहिलो साता देखि विउ खसाल्न सुरु हुन्छ। यसकोलागी बियारा खेतमा बिउ खसालिन्छ जहाँ पानीको उपलब्धता होस् र खेतमा बिउ पुर्याउन सजिलो होस्। बिउ खसाल्न पहिले जोताउनु पर्छ र पानी चारैतिर पुग्ने गरि हेङगाउदै माटो हिल्याउनु पर्छ (Puddling) र त्यसमा राम्ररी मिस्सिने गरि खरानि, तेलको खोस्टा (खरि), DAP @२.५ के.जी. प्रती कट्ठा, पोटास(MOP) ०.४ के.जी. प्रती कट्ठा प्रयोग गर्नुपर्छ। १-२ घन्टा पछी बिउ छर्ने (यस्तो गर्दा बिउ उखेल्न सजिलो हुन्छ)

बिउ छर्ने र रोप्नेको क्षेत्रफलको भाग १:२० को हुन्छ। उदाहरणको लागी  एक बिगहा खेत रोप्नको लागी एक कट्ठा बिउ हाल्नु पर्छ।एक कट्ठाको लागी ४०-६० के.जी बिज हाल्नु पर्छ। तराईमा लगाउने धानका भेराईटीहरु मन्सुली , गोरखनाथ, काबेरी, गोल्डेन धान, राधा-४ आदी हुन्। कुनैकुनै किसानहरु पछिल्लो वर्ष प्रयोग गरेको बालीको बिज पनी प्रयोग गर्ने गर्छन्। खासगरी तराईका किसानहरु धानको बिज भारतबाट आयात गर्ने गर्दछन्। सस्तो दरमा बिज पाईएको हुनाले किसानहरु भारतीय बिउ प्रति आकर्षण बढ्दो छ। नेपाल सरकार कृषि मन्त्रालयले पनि वार्षिक रुपमा बिज भण्डारण गरी किसानहरुलाई सस्तो दर अथवा  निशुल्क प्रदान गर्ने गरेको छ। बिजलाई पानीले भिजाएर जुटको  बोराले ढाकेर २४ घण्टा सम्म अध्यारो कोढामा राख्नुपर्छ अनी बिउमा टुसा पलाएपछी छर्नुपर्छ। बिज छरेको ५-८ दिन पछि ६ के.जी प्रती कट्ठाको दरले युरिया छर्नुपर्छ। त्यसपछि बिउ २०-३० दिनमा रोप्ने लायकको हुन्छ।

अषाढको सुरुवात सङगै रोपाईको थालनी हुन्छ। मनसुनको सुरुवात सङगै पानी पर्ने मात्रा बढेको हुन्छ। किसानहरु पूर्वत: डिल (आलि, मेडी) बनाउन तम्तयार हुन्छन्। खेतमा धेरै पानी अड्याउन डिललाई खेतको माटोले बलियो र लाम्चो बनाईन्छ। रोपाई गर्न कि पानी २०-३० से.मी पर्नुपर्छ अथवा पानी पम्पसेटद्वारा उपयोग गरिन्छ। त्यपछि पानीले भरिपूर्ण खेतमा गहिरो जोताई हुन्छ (Deep Tillage) र माटो पानीको सतह मिलाउन हेन्गाईन्छ (Plancking)। जोतेको खेतमा DAP ६० के.जी प्रती हेक्टर र पोटास(MOP) ४० के.जी प्रती हेक्टरको दरले प्रयोग गरिन्छ। त्यमा जिङक १५ पि.पि.यम प्रयोग  पनी गरिन्छ। यसले खैरा रोगबाट मुक्ती दिलाउछ। खरको मात्रा धेरै भएमा Butachlor, Bispyribac Sodium (२.५ ग्राम ए. आइ./हे. ,  ५०० लिटर पानीमा घोलेर, झार उम्रीसके पछी) नामक बिषाधी प्रयोग गर्न सकिन्छ।

रोपाई गर्न २-४ बीउ  एक ठाउमा हाल्ने। उखालेको बिउ अधिकतम २४ घण्टाको हुनुपर्दछ। ढिलाई भएको खन्डमा ६ बीउ  सम्म प्रयोग गर्नु पर्छ। एक ढिस्को देखि अर्को ढिस्कोको  दुरी १५ – २० से.मी. सम्म हुनुपर्दछ। बालीलाई २-५  से.मी. सम्म गहिरो धास्नुपर्छ। यसले गर्दा जराको चाडो विकास हुन्छ। रोपेको ५-१० दिनमा युरिया १०० के.जी प्रती हेक्टर १/३ को Split Dose: १.जरा लाग्ने बेला, २.बालिको फूलको विकाश हुनु पुर्व र ३.बालीमा दाना लाग्ने बेलामा दिनुपर्छ। पानीको आवश्यकता भएमा समयमा सिंचाई गर्नुपर्छ।

धान रोपाईमा हुने मुख्य समस्याहरु:

१. समयमा पानी नपर्नु

२. माटोको भौतिक,जैविक र रसायनिक प्रकृतीको ह्रास हुनु

३. भुक्षय

४. रसायनिक मलको कमी

५. समयमा इन्धन (डिजल,पेट्रोल) नपाएर उपकरण चल्न नसक्नु

६. खेतहरु विच्छेदिकरण भएर बिचमा पर्नु (Land Division)

७. समयमा कामदार नपाईनु

८. गुणस्तर बिउको कमी

समस्या निदान गर्ने उपायहरु:

१. ठाउ – ठाउमा कुलो र नहरको बेवस्था

२. नेपाल सरकारद्वारा मान्यता प्राप्त बिज र मलको प्रयोग गर्ने

३. संरक्षित जोताईको प्रचारप्रसार (Conservational Tillage)

४. समयमा इन्धनको उपलब्धता र संरक्षण

५. किसानहरुलाई  आधुनिक खेतीको ज्ञान दिने

लेखक:

धनीराज कोहार

स्नातक (कृषि), तेस्रो सत्रांत

कृषि तथा वन विज्ञान विश्वविध्यालय, रामपुर, चितवन

 

 

COGNIZING DOUBLE HELIX FOR GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY

Food is essential component of life; no food, no life. But, do all people of the world get enough food to eat on daily basis? , Is the available food sufficient for world? , Is the world being able to produce in accordance of the population proportion? The common answer for all these questions is “NO”. Over 800 million people around the globe are still chronically hungry. The situation is harsh in developing countries where large proportion of people is under poverty line. Poor economy, unstable political situation, environmental & natural drawbacks and societal problems; all in a manner or two have caused food insecurity. Either the food is unavailable to underprivileged people or if available, is beyond their economic capacity. In short, the globe is under severe food insecurity.

Food security has four pillars:
1. Food availability
2. Food accessibility
3. Food affordability
4. Food sustainability

Thus, if food is sustainably accessible and affordable to people, it is said to be a food secured condition. This is backed by large-scale production, effective consumer outreach by means of effective marketing and development of other supporting infrastructures. Above all, the sustainability in production and sustainability in outreach is backbone of food security. But, the global population is increasing in seconds, so is their food demand and hunger. In a nutshell, food demand is increasing exponentially while the production curve is not even linear. To add more misery, our agricultural area is decreasing. Furthermore, the climatic changes, lack of effective agricultural mechanization tools, fertilizers and above all, involvement of mean capitalists in food production and distribution has had detrimental setback to global food security. So, now at this point of time, we are left to feed people by producing in limited agricultural land and that too in unfavorable condition, which for now seems next to impossible. Our only hope to feed people across the globe in these scenarios lies only with improving crop genetics for better production and there comes the significance of the “DOUBLE HELIX”.

The 21st century, proudly claimed as “Age of Science & Technology” is capable of realizing the dream of food security by infusion of genetics in crop production and improvement. The science of genetics has come a long way from Mendelian theories back in 1865 and their rediscovering in 1900. The revolution in genetics for plants started in the 1930s and 1940s where the methods of gene manipulations like colchicines to achieve chromosome doubling, use of nitrogen mustard and ethyl methane sulphonate to induce attributable mutations in plants, techniques of tissue culture and development of high yielding hybrid crops took place. The major achievement in genetics dates back to 1953, when James Watson & Francis Crick studied the molecular structure of DNA and put forward its double-helical structure; making them deservedly win the Nobel Prize in Physiology. This achievement had opened the field of genetics widely and our solution to global food insecurity lies with the same. We already have witnessed rapid genetic applications in field of agriculture and food science, and we are ready to add some more to ensure no one in any part of the world sleeps hungry.

This has had already been proved instrumental by Dr. Norman E. Borlaug when the entire world was facing acute food shortage in 1960s. He developed dwarf and high yielding varieties of wheat and encouraged farmers to use fertilizers, pesticides and irrigation. This resulted in bumper yield and many countries achieved the tag of food sufficiency. This speaks about the role of genetics in enhancing crop production. Now, with access of genetic engineering, we can manipulate the crop genotype at molecular level and induce yield enhancing features in them. We can induct the attribute we want to gain from plants at gene level viz. “Vitamin A rich Golden Rice by introducing 3 foreign genes in Oriza sativa japonica”. Same does apply to animals domesticated for food too. The 21st century has witnessed changes in temperature, precipitation, pattern of ultraviolet radiation; all capable of limiting crop performance. Now, with the choice of gene manipulation, we can cope these by developing heat tolerant varieties, low water needing or high water tolerant cultivars and even cultivars that perform well in available light conditions. So, the horizon of achieving global food security is wide open and possible only due to the magic and strength the DOUBLE HELIX holds. There lies immense power and possibilities in the segments of double helix of organisms, but most of them are still unrealized and those realized has not been put to use.

Though backed by huge possibilities and capabilities to revolutionize the global food security scenario, the application of genetics in the plants and animals is widely criticized by large group of people across the globe, as most being untested can hold no good to human health as there are raising concerns over hazards they may bring. Depletion of local cultivars may bring about genetic erosion. The genetically modified cultivars and organisms are not assured of their production performance in long run. So at a point, we may reach a phase where we can lack productive crops as we would already have destroyed the local cultivars and organisms in name of genetic revolution. Thus, at the moment, the world is not in mood to congnize the double helix for assuring food security by risking the dark future. But, we cannot deny the fact that sooner or later, the double helix power will feed the world.

Written By:
Akash Gupta
B.Sc.Agriculture, 2nd Semester
FOA, AFU, Rampur, Chitwan
Email: loveakashgpt@gmail.com
Mobile: +9779860501652

The Journey Begins

Dear Readers,

This is our great pleasure to have you on our web. We are starting to write things related to agriculture & all we need is your support. We hope to have you by our side in this journey & listen to your views.

Thank For Coming.

Keep in touch with us. Jay Jawan, Jay Kishan!