Two polyhouses constructed with the assistance of the Japanese government and the United Nations Development Programme in Nalgad Municipality-7 of Jajarkot were inaugurated on Sunday.

The multi-purpose nursery with misting will grow saplings of high-value crops such as vegetables, fruit, forage, and fodder for community members in the area affected by the 2023 earthquake, the Japanese Embassy in Kathmandu and UNDP said in a joint statement on Monday.

These polyhouses employ drip irrigation and mist irrigation which make optimum use of water, conserve water usage, decrease labour and increase agricultural productivity, reads the statement.

The nursery will directly benefit 25 members of the farmers’ group and other local farmers in the community. The naturally ventilated polyhouses demonstrate the benefits of climate-smart agriculture interventions, enabling off-seasonal high-value vegetable production, according to the statement.

In addition, the first five, out of 900, metallic improved cooking stoves and six orchard management tools were handed over to the local farmers, who are impacted by the earthquakes, to support their livelihood.

A total of 48 polyhouses have been supported so far through the ‘Enhancing Human Security Through Local Climate Action’ project, reads the statement.