Women's Cooperative Pioneers First Organic Center in Nepal
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The Panchakanaya Cooperative was formed by women from the semi-rural village of Thaligaun, who began the cooperative to realize the health and financial benefits of organic farming. |
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USAID’s Farmer-to-Farmer Program (FtF) in Nepal has helped the Panchakanaya Agricultural Cooperative Ltd to establish the first organic produce center in Nepal. The Panchakanaya Cooperative was formed by women from the semi-rural village of Thaligaun, who began the cooperative to realize the health and financial benefits of organic farming.
The FtF Program organized a meeting between the cooperative members and Dr. Arbindra Rimal, who was in the region to provide organic farming assistance on an FTF assignment in India. Dr. Rimal provided information about organic farming and discussed the possibility of obtaining organic certification through OneCert Asia, an organic certification agency established in Jaipur, India as the result of FTF volunteer interventions. Dr. Rimal also recommended the locality be converted into an organic zone for all agricultural products. The village approved of this recommendation and began steps to convert to an organic agricultural zone.
FtF volunteer Nathan McClintock provided onsite training in the preliminary aspects of organic farming. As a result of the technical assistance provided by FtF, the Cooperative’s sales of organic vegetables increased from US$17,920 to US$24,792, a net increase of US$3,436 [note: over what time period??] The market price for certified organic vegetable produce in Nepal exceeds 25% of the premium price for any produce. On average, 25 women cooperative members increased net income by US$137 in a period of one year. This is a major achievement in a subsistence agriculture-based country, tended to largely by an unpaid domestic female labor force.
Additionally, FtF helped the co-op establish linkages with the National Cooperative Development Board (NCDB) and the Department of Agriculture (DoA). The director of NCDB committed to support the cooperative through training and organizational development. The cooperative also received a credit of US$1,428 from NCDB to build a cooperative organic center in the village, and construction work is underway. The group obtained an additional US$6,714 in government funds to develop a road and the organic center. The Director General of the DoA pledged support to the Panchakanaya Agricultural Cooperative, and the DoA organized a national level organic seminar in Kathmandu that helped move the organic movement forward in Nepal.
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