When Narayan Datta Lamichhane transformed his rice field into a mango and litchi orchard, his neighbours couldn’t understand why he would give up a crop that had worked well for them for so long.
After a bout of inclement weather in which the neighbour’s rice paddy didn’t grow, Lamichhane said his orchard didn’t seem like such a bad idea.
“One month since I planted the trees, the saplings are growing well and are providing me with enough now,” Lamichhane said. “The trees will give me great benefit over the years to come.”
The farmers live in Maadi, Chitwan along the southwestern border of Nepal, one of the most important sub-watershed areas in the country. It’s also an area that is seeing the damaging effects of climate change; flooding, soil erosion, dry spells and encroaching wildlife.
In September, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the local Maadi municipality office inaugurated the new orchards as part of UNDP’s Comprehensive Disaster Risk Management Programme (CDRMP). The plantations ceremony marked the commitment by 132 farmers to ensure the orchards are maintained and protected.
“This is a wonderful initiative that will see long-term benefits for not only the farmers, but for the vulnerable land that had before faced the many hazards of climate change,” said Thaneshwor Prajuli, Executive Officer, Maadi Municipality.
Fruit cultivation has been perceived by the local farmers as one of the best options as a long-term income generation livelihood in the Maadi area. It will have multiple benefits to the community like slowing down the soil erosion and promotes green spaces. The new crops will also provide much needed steady income for Maadi’s residents who are indigenous and vulnerable populations like Dalits, Tharu and Bote.
While the trees take three to four years to reach their full harvest potential, intercropping with vegetables and other fast-yielding fruit, will help the farmers bridge the gap between the time the fields produced rice and when the first fruit is ready to be picked.
The Maadi Municipality Agriculture Coordination Committee is one of six community-based organizations that received grants from UNDP through CDRMP to implement Climate and Risk Management and Livelihood Improvement Project. The grant is a part of Millennium Development Goal Trust Fund Initiative (MDGTFI) of Republic of Korea and UNDP. As a result, 132 farmers received 1,550 saplings covering nine hectares of vulnerable land.
With the new roots systems and enriched soil, the community will start to see a strengthening of resilience against flooding, soil depletion and crop failure due to bad weather.
“I’m excited to see how this will change our community for the better,” Lamichhane said.