Flattering Towards a Professional Farmer

Kamala Shahi, a resident of Ward No. 05 in Khandachakra Municipality, Kalikot, is a housewife who lives with seven family members. In the past, her husband used to seasonally migrate to Ghadhawal, India, for employment where he worked as a laborer for Indian merchants to make ends meet. This presented challenges for Kamala and her husband in paying their children’s school fees and covering their daily expenses.

In 2020, the BHAKARI program was launched in their community, and Kamala Shahi was selected as the chairperson of the “Samyukta Sital Samuha,” a group consisting of 25 members. Through this program, she received training in agriculture, including kitchen gardening and permanent gardening. With technical and financial support from the Human Rights and Environment Development Centre (HuRENDEC) in Nepal, Kamala established an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) learning center under the BHAKARI program.

Kamala only grew vegetables for her family’s consumption before. However, she now cultivates vegetables on a two Ropani plot of land and plans to expand to an additional two Ropani of land. Her success has inspired the other 25 group members, who have also started their own kitchen gardens after seeing her progress. From her vegetable farming efforts, Kamala has earned NPR 5,000 from various vegetables, NPR 20,000 from tomatoes, NPR 4,000 from SIMI, as well as four Katta of millet and one Katta of wheat through barter. In total, she has earned NPR 29,000 from vegetable farming. She intends to use this income to cover school fees, purchase clothing, pay for healthcare, and address other household expenses.

Kamal Shahi has come to realize that vegetable farming is more economically advantageous and provides nutritious food compared to traditional paddy and wheat farming. She produces various varieties of vegetable. Her husband, Mr. Kamal Shahi, supports her efforts by dedicating his mornings and evenings to vegetable farming while tending to animal husbandry (goat rearing and bull) during the day. She expresses her intention to seek technical assistance from BHAKARI’s technical staff and the local government.