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).

Jeevatu liquid manure is prepared on-farm

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.

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.