Socio-economic field study on the sustainability of Jeevatu in Nepal
Sarah Crestin-Billet (junior consultant for the Food Security Center, University of Hohenheim) has recently completed a short-term field mission in Nepal to investigate “Jeevatu”. Jeevatu is an organic microbial inoculant developed and promoted by the Nepalese Farming Institute (NFI). It aims to prevent and control pests and diseases (bacterial, viral, fungal, etc.) of vegetables, cereals, flowers and fruit trees and to improve the growth of the plant, the yield and the quality of the fruits (vitamin content, peel thickness).
Produced by the Nepalese Natural
Bio-products Pvt. Ltd (NNB) under the supervision of the Nepalese Farming Institute
(NFI), Jeevatu is composed of beneficial microorganisms which are sourced in
Nepal’s natural environment and combined together. According to the principles
of Effective Microorganisms (EM) and biological control, beneficial microorganisms
contained in Jeevatu are supposed to enhance the soil’s activities, facilitate
the plant’s nutrients uptake and auto-immune capacity. Jeevatu can be mixed and
fermented with some organic matters (compost, urine) and water or directly applied
on crops and compost.
Sarah Crestin-Billet (junior consultant for the Food Security Center, University of Hohenheim) has recently completed a short-term field mission in Nepal to investigate “Jeevatu”. Jeevatu is an organic microbial inoculant developed and promoted by the Nepalese Farming Institute (NFI). It aims to prevent and control pests and diseases (bacterial, viral, fungal, etc.) of vegetables, cereals, flowers and fruit trees and to improve the growth of the plant, the yield and the quality of the fruits (vitamin content, peel thickness).
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| Jeevatu liquid manure is prepared on-farm |
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| Compost treated with Jeevatu |
Interviews among adopters and dis-adopters in
the Terai and Middle Hill regions showed
ambiguous results. Some farmers were fully satisfied and had largely diminished
their production costs, improved their environment and income. But others
didn’t manage to control pests, soil-borne and foliar diseases with Jeevatu. They
also questioned the effectiveness of Jeevatu to improve the soil fertility,
plant health, crop yield and fruit quality and preferred using self-made
organic products or purchased chemicals. Barriers to its adoption comprised the
unavailability of Jeevatu in remote local markets and difficulties in organic
matter supply, as well as some inconvenience to use it.
Additional interviews with NFI’s staff and external
experts, as well as the review of scientific publications provided additional
information about the advantages and risks of using Jeevatu. A complete report
on the study providing more detailed results will be available shortly.
