Peer pressure from fellow farmers can help reduce use of hazardous pesticides, and IPM FFS is the best approach for it
Paras Thakur, 52, a dedicated farmer of Triveni village of Bhaluhi Bharbaliya VDC. He is also well known lead farmer to Research institutions and DADO of Bara and Parsa district. He sells healthy IPM vegetables from his farm for about NRs. 50,000 in a season. In addition, he produces potato seed of PBS and NL 297, 971 variety of wheat. He had received National Award on the occasion of World Food Day in 2000 for his dedication to using modern technologies in farming. He believes farming if done in scientific way can bring economic revolution in Nepal. He had received handful of training in health and agriculture and had exposure of training both in Nepal and India. He received training in vegetable farming organized in Kathmandu ad Naktajhij.
He also received training on the maintenance of diesel pump set in Nepal and India. However, he was looking for practical training where not only single farmer learn but group of farmers could take advantage of the technology. In search of the continuous farmer's education, he joined a farmer field school (FFS) in 2009 where he was s Chairperson of the group. Later, he was selected to farmer's TOF training.
Now through IPM FFS ad post FFS, he educates fellow farmers in his village. Few months before, he established cellar mill worth of NRs. 300,000 in his village where his two sons are engaged. He understood that how farm based training and education help farmers understand the new technologies and adopt it to their own field in a systematic way. Peer pressure from fellow farmers to optimize the use of fertilizer and reduce the use of chemical fertilizers had changed the farming practices. He says "AESA is mirror of the IPM technology and Ecology is a balanced system". He was well aware of the degradation of environment.
He still remembers that when it was difficult to breathe in the evening by the odour of pesticides that used to come from the field. Farmers in his village used to spray highly hazardous pesticide to control plant disease and insect without any care and they used to store the bottles and tank in the kitchen. Farmers used to smoke cigarettes and chew tobacco while spraying. He says that it was just like nightmare. Due to heavy use of pesticides such as thiamate, phorate, there was less population of earthworm.
There was even couple of cases of pesticide poisoning, which he himself had to face police interrogation while trying to save the fellow farmers. Scenario has been now changed due to IPM FFS and post FFS activities. All farmers here grow crop using IPM technology. And there is heavy peer pressure from the IPM farmers not to use chemical pesticides. Because of this, neighboring farmers have also reduced the use of chemical pesticide and they come to seek advice from him. Therefore, he observes that after two years of IPM FFS, there is gradual increment in population of earthworm, honeybee and other useful insects in their surroundings.