Farmers dependency on forests for nutrients transfer to farmlands in mid-hills and high mountain regions in Nepal (case studies in Hemja, Kaski, Lete and Kunjo, Mustang district)

Balla, M. K.; Tiwari, Kalpana; Kafle, Gandhiv; Gautam, Shrikrishna; Thapa, Shankar; Basnet, B. S.

doi:10.5897/ijbc2013.0670

Cited by 13 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Agriculture in Nepal is still largely subsistence in nature and dominated by smallholder farmers and mixed cropping systems. Many studies have shown that a decline in soil fertility across the country is a key factor that constrains the productivity of most crops and farming systems (Balla et al 2014;Rijal 2001;Schreier, Brown, and Shah 1995). There are a variety of other causes that are responsible for the stagnant productivity; for example, climatic variations (Panday 2012), changing farming practices (Ghimire and Panday 2017;Paudel et al 2014), and soil erosion (Maharjan and Joshi 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improving fertilizer recommendations for Nepalese farmers with the help of soil-testing mobile van

Pandey

Bhatta

Paudel

et al. 2017

Journal of Crop Improvement

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Smallholder farmers dominate agriculture in Nepal. These farmers have poor knowledge about agriculture and lack of support for soil management and integrated plant-nutrient systems. Focusing on the importance and need for soil-fertility management, a soil-testing mobile van program has recently been introduced in Nepal by Soil Management Directorate, Hariharbhawan. With the introduction of the mobile lab, famers can get their soil tested for nutrient deficiencies and fertilizer requirements at their doorsteps. Using mobile lab, spatial distributions of chemical properties, including pH, organic matter (OM), total nitrogen (N), available phosphorus (as P 2 O 5), and available potassium (as K 2 O) were examined in soil samples taken from the 0 to 15 cm depth from selected agricultural fields in eight different districts in the mid-hills and Terai regions of Nepal. Tests conducted on 1,479 soil samples in the soil-testing mobile van revealed the following: the mean soil OM ranged from 0.01 to 1.77%; total N content ranged from 0.01 to 0.08%; mean available P 2 O 5 ranged from 16.47 to 197.82 kg ha −1 ; and mean available K 2 O digitalcommons.unl.edu RPa n d e y e t a l. i n J o u r n a l o f C r o p I m p r ov e m e n t 3 2 (2 0 1 8) 2 ranged from 84.3 to 422.57 kg ha −1. For each crop to be grown, farmers were provided with individual soil health reports and fertilizer recommendations (rate, amount, and type). This program not only allows scientists and farmers to work closely and share information but also serves as a model for the nation to successfully transfer technology for improving soil health and sustainability.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improving fertilizer recommendations for Nepalese farmers with the help of soil-testing mobile van

Pandey

Bhatta

Paudel

et al. 2017

Journal of Crop Improvement

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“…Similarly Rasul & Thapa, (2004) reported that to enhance the soil"s biological fertility, promotion of leguminous crop cultivation, agroforestry and livestock farming are good approaches. Bajracharya, & Sherchan, (2009) ;Balla et al, (2014) described that mountain farmers of Nepal are heavily dependent on forest based farming system to sustain their livelihoods. As most of them have no alternatives except the natural resource base to fulfill their subsistence requirements such as food, fodder, fuel wood, fiber, construction materials and other non-wood forest products.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Biochar and Farm Yard Manure on Soil Properties and Crop Growth in an Agroforestry System in the Himalaya

Gautam¹,

Sitaula²

2017

SAR

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Many parts of South Asia are facing agricultural land degradation and reduced productivity while the population continues to grow and demand for food is ever-increasing. This paper presents the results of research specifically focused on application of biochar and Farm Yard Manure (FYM) at 5t/ha and 20t/ha, respectively as an amendment on degraded soil in a coffee agroforestry system of the mid-hills in the Nepal Himalaya. The study showed that there were significant (P<0.05) positive effects on soil chemical properties, crop growth (height) and crop productivity. In particular, the soil pH and SOM increased significantly, while other soil properties were not significantly improved. Also, plant growth increased dramatically with application of biochar, however, crop yields showed only slight increases. It is suggested that biochar applied at low rates along with FYM generally has immediate positive effects on the vegetative growth of plants, however, soil properties and overall crop yields may take a longer time to show improvement.

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“…In our case also, contribution of both practices seems supportive in conserving forest situated nearby local village. e farmers are utilizing their farmland for forest-based products required for their household, but still they depend on surrounding forest to fulfill the deficit demand [6,25]. e improved practitioners are fulfilling their maximum portion of demand (90% fodder, 92% fuelwood, and 67% leaf litter) from their farmland.…”

Section: Contribution Of Agroforestry Practice On Forestmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…ough efforts are being made for the promotion of agroforestry practices, there is still a huge gap in identifying better agroforestry practice. Nevertheless, some studies on agroforestry have been conducted in Nepal such as contribution on households' economy [23], livelihood enhancement and food security [24], and satisfying households' requirements [25,26]. e studies conducted so far seemed insufficient to provide substantial backup to appraise better agroforestry practices.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Which Agroforestry Practice Is Beneficial? A Comparative Assessment of the Traditional and the Improved Agroforestry Techniques in the Midhills of Nepal

Paudel

Tiwari

Raut

et al. 2021

Advances in Agriculture

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Farmers are predominantly adopting two forms of agroforestry, traditional and improved practices, in the midhills of Nepal, but their efficacy on a comparative basis is poorly assessed, so farmers often confuse whether to continue the traditional practice or embrace the improved practice. We carried out a study in six villages of three districts, interviewed 210 farmers adopting each practice, organized six focus group discussions, and interacted with 24 key informants to compare agroforestry practices from income generation and forest conservation perspectives. An individual household adopting the improved practice annually generated 841.60 US$, which was more than two folds of the traditional practitioner. Similarly, the improved practitioner annually fulfilled 84% demand for forest products from the adopted agroforestry practice, whereas the traditional practitioner only fulfilled about 50%. The fodder, fuelwood, and timber productions were found to be significantly higher in the improved practice, whereas leaf litter production was found to be almost similar. The improved practitioners seemed to be self-sustained in forest products, where the traditional practitioners only satisfied half of their requirements from the agroforestry practice. The study concludes that the improved agroforestry practice is more beneficial compared to the traditional practice. Therefore, we suggest the traditional practitioners to modify their ongoing practice to enhance the contribution of agroforestry practice at the local level.

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Farmers dependency on forests for nutrients transfer to farmlands in mid-hills and high mountain regions in Nepal (case studies in Hemja, Kaski, Lete and Kunjo, Mustang district)

Cited by 13 publications

References 18 publications

Improving fertilizer recommendations for Nepalese farmers with the help of soil-testing mobile van

Improving fertilizer recommendations for Nepalese farmers with the help of soil-testing mobile van

Effects of Biochar and Farm Yard Manure on Soil Properties and Crop Growth in an Agroforestry System in the Himalaya

Which Agroforestry Practice Is Beneficial? A Comparative Assessment of the Traditional and the Improved Agroforestry Techniques in the Midhills of Nepal

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