Ecological sanitation in North Bihar helps farmers save time and increases yields

Picture 1: Ecosan toilet with mud, straw and bamboo super structure.

Mr Janis Koknevics, a master student in Agricultural Sciences in the tropics and sub tropics from the University of Hohenheim is currently in northern Bihar, India, investigating the sustainability of the ecological sanitation (ecosan) units. The ecosan units are promoted and implemented by Megh Pyne Abhiyan (MPA), a local NGO and associate in SATNET Asia. For this study Mr. Koknevics is visiting 3 districts where MPA works, namely, Paschim (West) Champaran, Saharsa, and Khagaria.

Access to sanitation in rural Bihar is very limited and open defecation is common practice. The state of Bihar is also a flood prone area with over 70% of the total geographical area flood affected. During floods, unsafe sanitation practices contribute to water borne diseases and lead to increased use of land on high ground (i.e. embankments) for open defecation, further exacerbating the conditions in which people are forced to live in.

Picture 2: Inside of ecosan toilet: hole for urine (center), for defecating (with covers) and for cleaning oneself after the toilet (extreme right and left). Ash to apply onto the excreta (right  corner).

The broad technical aspects of the ecosan units, also called “Phaydemand Shauchalay”, meaning beneficial or productive toilet, is to provide a safe structure, separating urine, excreta and wash water. The technology is designed to withstand floods, with a brick/cement base structure, containing 2 excreta chambers, one urine outlet and 2 anal wash water outlets. When one excreta chamber is full, it is sealed and left to decompose over a period of 6 months or more, while the 2^nd excreta chamber is used. Urine is directly collected in a gallon container, or in a separate chamber fitted with a tap for easy access.

Since arriving in India Mr. Koknevics has met with local water and sanitation experts in Delhi, MPA representatives in Bihar, stakeholders at local government level, local NGO representatives, as well as farmers and ecosan users in the respective districts. Mr. Koknevics conducted questionnaire based face-to-face interviews with ecosan users.

Picture 3: Full brick and cement structure in Rupaliya. The drawing painted on the ecosan toilet demonstrates the cycle from defecating to applying urine and humanure to crops.

Ecosan users stated benefits of saving 1 to 2 hours/day by not having to go for open defecation, time which is now used for household (HH) chores, farming, education or relaxing. Safety of the family was also mentioned as both a benefit and reason for adoption of the ecosan toilet. The use of urine as a fertilizer has been positively received in the village, with farmers observing greener crops and higher yields through individual experiments at HH level by applying urine to some crops and chemical fertilizers to others. Use of urine has led farmers purchasing less urea (1-2 bags) and these savings being used for purchasing clothes and other HH utensils. The use and application of humanure (decomposed human excreta) was not yet commonly adopted in all villages. However, one respondent stated using humanure in his fields and observed “greener crops and no issues with insects”.

The main maintenance issue that was observed and identified by a majority of respondents was the presence of worms in the excreta chambers, with respondents stating children having difficulties with urinating and defecating separately and water entering the excreta chamber accidentally when washing oneself. In one village, respondents reported missing or broken gas pipes (meant for evacuating smell from the excreta chambers), urine taps missing or broken and one HH had no roof for the toilet

Mr. Koknevics looks forward to providing more detailed information by the end of his stay in Bihar.

Reaching farmers in Pakistan with sustainable agricultural technologies

A training workshop on identifying sustainable agricultural technologies and translating research findings into information accessible to extension workers and farmers took place from 1 to 5 July 2013 in Islamabad, Pakistan. The workshop was organized in partnership between the Centre for Alleviation of Poverty through Sustainable Agriculture (CAPSA), Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC), National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). It gathered about 23 scientists from PARC institutes around the country and three people from FAO, Pakistan office.

The workshop focused on four important parts of development work in Pakistan – (i) learning to conduct sustainability assessments of agricultural technologies; (ii) improving communication by understanding knowledge needs of different types of stakeholders as a way of addressing the gap between research and practice; (iii) sharing knowledge through targeted knowledge products such as technology factsheets.

The key outcomes generated from the training include the following:

• Participants constructed exemplary hierarchy schemes for indicator construction for five technologies.
• Participants compiled available data needed for indicator calculation for two technologies that are being promoted in Pakistan – zero-tillage and home gardens. 
• Participants produced an excel sheet for data entry and indicator calculation containing all needed formulas and calculated sustainability indicators for the two technologies mentioned above.
• Participants prepared 17 factsheets by following the template for factsheets that has been developed by SATNET Asia.
• The SATNET Asia Network expanded as it now includes all 23 researchers that attended the training.
• Strengthened collaboration with PARC, NARC and FAO in Pakistan.

The factsheets cover the following topics:

•  Managing salinity in the Indus Basin using skimming wells with pressurized irrigation technologies
•  Advancing cucumber crop by early nursery raising
• Farmers’ rice bank
•  Integrated pest management model for fruit flies in Pakistan
• Green Panic – a valuable grass for improving productivity of ranges of Potohar Plateau
•  Participatory goat breed improvement
• Post-harvest technology of deciduous fruit crops
• Popularizing nutritionally-balanced cattle feed for increasing productivity of dairy farms in Pakistan 
• New high yielding tomato varieties for Gilgit Baltistan
• Boron application increases cotton yield in Pakistan
• Micro-irrigation system
• Cultivation of medicinal plants on marginal lands of Cholistan Desert through training of farmers
• Home gardening for eco-friendly healthy diet and pesticide risk free vegetables
• A new high yielding oat variety for rainfed Potohar and irrigated areas of Pakistan
• Biological control of sugarcane borers by using insect natural enemy
• Phytoremediation technology
• The FMI seeder and its performance

The workshop facilitators used a number of processes to encourage participants’ learning and knowledge sharing. Participants’ feedback showed that whether they engaged in individual or group work, analytical or writing exercises, peer reviews, role playing or various discussions, everybody contributed to the training and left home enriched.  “We learned what sustainability is and how to assess it based on indicators. Once I identify a sustainable technology, I now know how to communicate it,” shared one of the participants during the final reflection.

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.