To promote sustainable farming and reduce dependency on chemical pesticides, the project “A safety net of innovative land tenure solutions for near-landless sharecroppers and for a greener rural Nepal – L4ACT” has targeted 3,000 farmers across 120 Self-Help Groups (SHGs) in Four Municipalities (Lamahi Municipality, Rajpur Rural Municipality (RM), Gadhawa RM, Rapti RM) of Dang District. As part of this initiative, 11 sets of training on "Climate Smart Agriculture and Botanical Pesticide, Jholmal Preparation" have been conducted to 242 local farmers including 204 women, providing farmers with the necessary knowledge and skills to shift toward sustainable and environment friendly agricultural practices. (Data as of January 2025).

Handover of Agricultural Materials to Farmers

To further support the adoption of Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) technologies, a “Handover Program of Agriculture Materials to Farmers” was organized on February 21, 2025, at CSRC, Lamahi Field Office. The event was organized in the presence of Mr. Sharad Kumar Budhathoki, Chairperson of Rajpur Rural Municipality, and Mr. Ganesh Chaudhary, Ward Member of Rajpur-2, along with Ms. Bandana Sinha, District Coordinator at UN-Habitat. Another handover event took place on February 23, 2025, in Rajpur-2, attended by Mr. Ashok Chaudhary, Ward Secretary of Rajpur Rural Municipality, Mr. Bishnu Paudel, Manager-Green Enterprises and Climate Justice, Good Neighbors International and Ms. Bandana Sinha of UN-Habitat.

 Providing information to farmers about the agriculture materials. ©CSRC/Neelam

Under this initiative, farming tools were provided to five Self Help Groups (SHGs) in Rajpur-2—namely the Salghari Farmer Group, Materiya Land Right Forum (LRF), Madhadpur LRF, Dadagaun Aale Tole LRF, and Chaffa LRF—along with one group in Lamahi-5, the Kolahi LRF. This effort supported a total of 182 farmers, with 142 from Rajpur-2 and 40 from Lamahi-5 benefiting from the distribution.

The distributed materials included:

• 50-litre Drums and Effective Microorganisms (EM): Encouraging the use of botanical pesticides for safer and more sustainable farming.
• 18-litre Sprayer Tanks: Facilitating the application of botanical pesticides and biofertilizers to crops.
• Garden Rakes: Designed as women-friendly tools to ease agricultural labor, particularly in weeding, soil leveling, and nursery bed preparation. These tools help reduce women's workload and encourage shared labor responsibilities among men and women. 

Knowledge Sharing and Community Engagement

To ensure proper utilization of the distributed materials, an information sheet detailing their usage was provided to farmers. The handover event also fostered valuable discussions with farmers actively engaging in queries and decision-making. Ram Jeevan Chaudhary, a member of Kolahi LRF, shared that their group would implement a rotation system for using the Garden Rake and Sprayer Tank during their monthly meetings.

The initiative has been well received, with farmers expressing gratitude for the support and pledging to use the materials effectively. The project team remains committed to continuous follow-up and monitoring to ensure the successful adoption of climate-smart technologies, ultimately fostering sustainable agriculture and improved livelihoods in the region.

This project is funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (Republic of Korea), executed by UN-Habitat and implemented by Good Neighbors International (GNI) & Community Self Reliance Center (CSRC).