Author: Sanjeev Gurung

ForestAction Nepal as a secretariat of the Alliance of Agriculture for Food (AAF) in collaboration with Martin Chautari organized a panel discussion entitled ‘why should anyone farm?/कोही किन खेती गरोस् ? on 20th April 2025. The discussion was moderated by Teeka Bhattarai (an educationist). The panelists include Mr. Uddhav Adhikari (Coordinator of AAF), Dr. Krishna Paudel (Agriculture expert) and Dr. Sujata Tamang (Researcher, women in Agriculture).

The major highlights of the discussion are:

– The primary purpose of farming has shifted from feeding ourselves to only earning income which has led to an increased use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and hormones. Farming should prioritize consume first, followed income generation and employment for farmers.

– Chemical-free farming/nature-based farming is both productive and possible, provided that policies, programs and priorities are reoriented to support such practices.

– Agroecological farming practices are emerging as vital alternatives to address the ongoing crisis in human health, soil degradation, biodiversity loss and environmental challenges.

– There are several factors contributing on farmers being demotivated to farming. These include unequal distribution of land, farming as less respectful profession, low income compared to the investments, loss of biodiversity and seeds, unpredictable weather and climate impacts are some of them. Among the farmers, marginal farmers including landless and women farmers are struggling to make their livelihoods out of farming and going through other additional challenges based on cultural and structural practices.

– Current agriculture policies and programs are not aligned with nature-based and agroecological system rather it focuses on modernization, mechanization and industrialization.

– Marginal farmers face added challenges under the farming system focused on modernization, mechanization and industrialization, which often rely on chemicals, pesticides and terminated seeds which is not viable in our context.

– Farmer’s participation especially of those engaged as laborers in the farming, is lacking in the policy and program formulation process. As a result their needs and voices cannot be adequately responded or addressed by the content of the policies.

Youtube Link: Click here for the event video

Over the past few decades, ForestAction Nepal has been conducting participatory action research and organising critical discussions for democratic and inclusive governance of natural resources in Nepal. Piloting and long-term research on forest management, biodiversity conservation and Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) are among the major priorities of the organisation. As the world is celebrating UN Decade on Restoration, FLR has been regarded as a key strategy to tackle the interconnected environmental challenges that we are facing today.

To address such issues and ignite discussions, ForestAction Nepal as a part of the REDAA Project has launched a talk series on emerging issues, new insights, methodological innovations, success stories and theoretical advancements in the domains of biodiversity conservation and forest landscape restoration in Nepal. Dr. Lila Nath Sharma commenced the series on 10^th January 2025 with a discussion on “Forgotten legacies in biodiversity conservation and forest landscape restoration in the era of socio-ecological crisis.”

On 3^rd March 2025, the second talk series kicked off with the sharing by Professor Dr. Ole Reider Vetaa of the University of Bergen, who shed light on “Conservation biogeography; migration, isolation and barriers in changing climate.” Around 35 participants had joined the talk program, including Prof. Emeritus RP Chaudhary and faculty members from Kathmandu University and Tribhuvan University.

ForestAction Nepal is currently undertaking a REDAA research project funded by UK International Development from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and managed by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) to analyse the socio-ecological outcomes of restoration interventions in Nepal. Since three months, ForestAction Nepal’s team has been travelling to different transits in Nepal to assess different restoration sites, initiatives and their impacts. The team have complete the field research in Eastern (Pancthar, Ilam, Sunsari, Dhankuta, Bhojpur), Central (Palpa, Syangja, Tanahu, Kaski), and Western (Surkhet, Jajarkot, Dailekh) transits of Nepal.

The team had identified forest coverage changes through satellite images for the intervention. After analysing the satellite images, and assessing the forest cover changes, the team conducted socio ecological surveys, where bio-physical surveys was conducted in the forest and socio-economic surveys were taken in the forest-depended communities. Along with that, the team has also conducted capacity building trainings, leadership trainings to various communities on forest landscape restoration and management.

As part of our ongoing efforts to foster agroecology for soil restoration and biodiversity conservation, Forest-Action Nepal, in collaboration with Ichhakamana Rural Municipality, successfully conducted training sessions on compost and bio-pesticide preparation for farmers from Dhusa and Kalikhola villages on February 4 and 5, 2025, respectively. A total of 34 farmers, all actively engaged in commercial vegetable farming, participated in the training sessions.

Chandra Prasad Adhikari, an organic farmer with over three decades of experience facilitated the training. The training methodology integrated learning approaches like interactive discussions and hands-on field exercises and covered topics like the orientation on agroecology, the effects of inorganic farming on soil and human health, the benefits of organic fertilizers and bio-pesticides, and the practical demonstration of composting and bio-pesticides.

This training is a significant step in our agroecology initiative, promoting community-led approaches to sustainable farming that promotes local knowledge exchange and capacity building of farmers. This training also serves as a foundation for establishing farmer-led demonstration plots, further strengthening our collaborative action plan with Ichhakamana Rural Municipality.

Raising awareness on the importance of sustainable farming through theatre play in the communities

ForestAction Nepal, in collaboration with the Shilpi Group, showcased the drama Sattapatta across ten locations in Chitwan from November 12–20, 2024, with the primary goal of raising awareness about sustainable farming. The performances targeted a diverse audience, including students, teachers, local government representatives, and community members, particularly farmers. By engaging both younger and older generations, the initiative aimed to influence those directly and indirectly involved in agricultural practices.

Each performance attracted an audience of approximately 150-200 people, successfully engaging them throughout the show. Through its powerful narrative, the play effectively highlighted the growing reliance on chemical inputs in agriculture, emphasising their harmful impacts on soil health, human well-being, and the overall ecosystem.

Additionally, meaningful discussions about the need for alternative, sustainable farming practices were thoroughly conducted after every show. The play not only conveyed a positive message but also helped participants understand the importance of sustainable farming systems.

ForestAction Nepal successfully held its 22nd Annual General Meeting on 22nd September 2024. On this occasion, the organization took an opportunity to honor the former chairperson of ForestAction Board, Prof. Dr. Ram Bahadur Chhetri, who chaired for over 8 years and acted as the principal investigator for various research projects. Additionally, the organization recognized Mrs. Laxmi Thapa, a dedicated staff member who has been with ForestAction since its establishment.

Forest fire has been an issue of concern across Nepal, and relevant actors have been struggling to identify ways to effectively address the problem. While several strategies are put in place, they seem to have been inadequate. Most importantly, lack of capacities of relevant stakeholders emerges as a major weakness when it comes to addressing the issue. In this line, ForestAction Nepal hosted a Forest Fire Training Module Sharing Workshop delivered by highly experienced experts from Australia. Mr. Alan Hill and Mr. Vince Cafari, from Australia, shared a forest fire training module that is targeted to the Nepalese audiences. The purpose of the workshop was to refine the forest fire training module before rolling it down to the field. This is part of our collective effort to combat the increasing risk of forest fires in Nepal.