Bridging research and practice: the opening of the writeshop on translating research findings into practice

The writeshop on translating research findings into knowledge accessible and understandable to farmers has been officially opened this morning, 12 June 2013. The writeshop will last until Friday 14 June.

This capacity-building event aims to reduce the knowledge gap between research and practice by enhancing the capacity of Indonesian extension workers to identify the most compelling findings from the work of researchers, package, present and disseminate these findings to farmers in a practical form. It offers an opportunity to deepen participants' understanding of knowledge and communication issues and gaps between research and extension, enhance their communication skills, share best practices, and learn to better engage with stakeholders. The event is being organized in partnership between CAPSA, the Indonesian Center for Agricultural Technology Assessment and Development (ICATAD) and AVRDC - The World Vegetable Center. 

   

Twenty-seven people are being trained in the writeshop. They come from various provinces in Indonesia. In his opening remarks, Mr. Agung Hendriadi, Director of ICATAD highlighted the importance of this workshop to help local staff to process research findings that can be well understood by extensionists and farmers. Mr. Anshuman Varma, the Knowledge Management Coordinator of CAPSA, in his remarks underscored the linkage between the writeshop and CAPSA’s project titled ‘Network for Knowledge Transfer on Sustainable Agricultural Technologies and Improved Market Linkages in South and South-East Asia’ (SATNET), a key initiative funded by the European Union for promoting sustainable agriculture.

A moderated discussion was also held, underlining the three fundamental concerns: Where is the problem between research and practice rooted? Is it being addressed sufficiently, and how? and

What issues remain?

Three guest speakers were invited: Dr. Zulkifli Zaini (IRRI, Indonesia) representing researchers, Mr. Kobarsih (Extension Center for Agriculture, Fishery and Forestry Dramaga, Bogor) representing extentionists and Mr. Didin Supandi (Agrosilva Farmer Group, Sukamandi) representing farmers. The discussion among the three speakers led to interesting reaction from the audience.

 

Study on Distillation Units in Nepal completed: some preliminary findings

In May 2013, Chelsea Johnson conducted interviews in three different districts of Nepal: Banke and Bardiya in the terai and Lalitpur in the hills. 

The social changes seen since the installation of the distillation units (DUs) has been obvious.  All people who contributed plants for essential oil distillation have said that the extra income has been used for their children’s school fees and food for the household.  Even non-users have noticed change in the community: children are receiving better education and fewer men need to go abroad for work because of the increased incomes from essential oil production.  The money from cultivating and gathering plants contributes to 20-80% of household income, with an average of 45%. One farmer was able to make enough money from distilling essential oil in the community DU that he invested 100,000 rupees from his savings to buy his own DU.  He now charges others farmers to use it.

In the buffer zone around Bardiya National Park, essential oil crops keep wildlife from encroaching onto farms.  Because this has worked so well in Bardiya, essential oil crops are spreading to the area around the city of Pokhara in the hills, where monkeys are a serious problem in the community.

Even though the DUs have had success, there are opportunities for improvement.  With training for farmers in market dynamics, they could better understand price changes and grow crops accordingly.  An opportunity for additional income would be to sell the hydrosol, a by-product of processing which is currently being discarded but could sell for 720 rupees per liter of mentha hydrosol.  The DU’s strengths are being a simple technology which uses renewable energy; however, if a biomass gasifier was installed fuel usage could decrease, as well as greatly reduce emissions.

The distillation unit has many benefits for society, economy and environment.  The DUs visited in the study have provided significant additional income for smallholder farmers. This is especially true for women who make up more than half of the users and most of whom reported having opportunities equal to men.  Gathering, cultivation, and firewood collection are managed by a forest committee, so environmental resources are protected.  These assets are part of the reason that DUs continue to be installed across Nepal and become more successful each year.

Where rivers run dry, landless farmers benefit: vegetables from riverbeds

Ms. Katharina Schiller, a master student from Hohenheim University, is investigating the sustainability of riverbed farming in the Indo-Gangetic plains (the Terai) of southern Nepal, in collaboration with Helvetas Nepal. 

After the monsoon season, rivers run dry again, giving landless and land-poor farmers, as well as those whose arable lands have been lost to siltation from floods, an opportunity to use the dry riverbeds for vegetable farming. 

Ms. Schiller has been in Nepal since late March. After spending a week meeting stakeholders from the Riverbed Farming Alliance in Kathmandu, she went to Dhangadhi, in the southwest corner of Nepal, to do the bulk of her field work. There, she met stakeholders at the local government level before beginning regular trips to meet with riverbed farming groups in the two westernmost districts of the Terai, Kailali and Kanchanpur. Most groups she has met have been composed of Tharu (indigenous) people, and a large percentage have been female farmers. These represent two of the most disadvantaged groups in the Terai. 

In the riverbed farming program, riverbed land is leased to groups of farmers. The groups receive lessening amounts of inputs for 3 years. Technological training through Local Resource Persons continues after the project phases out. The groups Ms. Schiller has met have been farming in the riverbeds for several years now and report very positive results. The income from the sales of vegetables have allowed them to increase their household's year-round access to food, purchase arable land, open new businesses, and invest in their children's education. Eating patterns have changed, with all farmers interviewed thus far reporting that they eat much more vegetables now than in the past. Most groups also mentioned a reduction in male out-migration to seek employment in urban centers of Nepal or India. 

The success of riverbed farming is evident from the high level of replication of the technology by other villagers (spill over effect), clearly visible in adjacent fields. 

Ms. Schiller is looking forward to continuing to meet riverbed farming groups in the next weeks. 

Photos: Katharina Schiller

Chamomile is in the air - The sustainability of low volume, high-value essential oils from the hills of Nepal

Ms Chelsea Johnson, a master student from the University of Hohenheim, conducts a validation study on distillation units promoted by one of SATNET Asia’s Associates, IDE in Nepal. The aim is to examine the sustainability of this technology. Since 15 March 2013, she visited distillers in Lahitpur district (a hilly region, 24 km from Kathmandu) and Banke district (terai region, 27 km from Nepalgunj) and discussed with unit managers and technical experts about the different sustainability aspects of the distillation units. Currently, the second chamomile harvest of the year is happening in the terai and wintergreen processing is going on in the hills.

Nepal has a unique climate and landscape which makes it suitable for growing aromatic plants and processing essential oils. Low-volume, high-value products such as essential oil can supplement income for some of the poorest groups in Nepal. Distillation is an economical method of extracting essential oil from aromatic plant material which can be carried out with simple equipment close to the site of plant production. Even in remote locations large quantities of material can be processed in a short time. The photo on the right shows community members bringing winter green to the distillation unit.

In initial interviews conducted by Chelsea Johnson, barriers to the success of production have been acknowledged: the volatility of market prices of essential oils and the ability of farmers to act accordingly, lack of year-round processing, and competition from neighboring India. However, with technical support and farmer training in understanding market dynamics, the essential oil production can continue to grow. The photo on the left shows Mr. Harka Bahadur Bista, distillation unit manager, takes a look at a freshly processed chamomile essential oil.

Because the distillers are owned by community forest groups, the profits from the sale of essential oils goes to a community fund which pays for services such as roads and schools. Decisions about which plants to grow on community land must be made as a group, and over-harvesting is not possible because the community enforces guidelines set by Nepal’s Department of Forests.

In the upcoming weeks, Ms Johnson will interview farmers, distillation unit managers, and essential oil buyers to gain further insight to some of the barriers of sustainability. 

Photos:  Chelsea Johnson