Farmer Hari Bhakta Pokhrel of Somadi, Palpa has been growing vegetables without applying chemical pesticide and fertilizer for the last two years. His crops failed in the first year after adopting the integrated pest management (IPM) system, a semi-organic farming technique to solve pest problems while minimizing risks to people and the environment.

“I suffered a huge loss initially as my crops failed to develop without pesticides and chemical fertilizer due to a nutrient deficiency,” he said.

Pokhrel added that he used to produce cabbages and cauliflowers weighing 6 kg and 3 kg respectively when applying chemical fertilizer and pesticide. But after switching to the IPM system, their weight dropped to 2 kg and 1 kg respectively. “It makes a huge difference on the crop when chemical inputs are applied.”

However, Pokhrel continued with IPM. “I started to apply homemade bio-pesticides and organic manure like animal dung. The crop productivity started to improve gradually from the second year,” he said.

Likewise, farmer Tulsi Ram Pandey has been adopting the IPM system. “After years, I realized that using chemical fertilizer and pesticides was bad for soil health,” he said. “Obviously, farmers incur losses in the initial phase while adopting the organic system, but productivity starts to recover gradually,” he said. “In the long-term, this system benefits human and soil health.” More than 50 households in the village have been adopting the organic farming system through the help of the local health, education and skill development centre.

Likewise, another 50 households in Mujhung village have switched to the system. The District Agriculture Development Office has also been encouraging farmers to go for the IPM farming system. The office has been running IPM programmes to reduce pesticide use. Farmers are trained to prepare organic manure and bio-pesticides, besides applying animal dung and urine on the crops under the programme. “Farmers here are now well aware of harmful chemicals,” said Pandey. “Most of the farmers are engaged in organic vegetable production.”

The District Agriculture Office has been running awareness programmes lasting 16-19 weeks, said plant protection officer Thaman Bahadur Karki. He added that 952 women and 513 men had received the training.

Nepal is among the lowest users of farm pesticides in the world, but incidences of damage to human health and the environment have been disproportionately high, according to the Department of Agriculture. The developed countries have been using large amounts of pesticides to increase crop productivity, but their impact on human health and the environment is less as they do not apply these harmful chemicals haphazardly, and their use is well monitored.

According to the department, the average use of active ingredients in Nepal is 396 gm per hectare, a sharp jump from 142 gm per hectare two years ago. In India, the average use of pesticides is 400 gm per hectare while the figure ranges from 12-15 kg per hectare in Japan, Korea and Italy.