Kanchanpur. Mukta Kamaiya, who has been involved in commercial vegetable farming in Shuklaphanta Municipality-8, Naukhari has started vegetable farming using mulching technology. The Mukta Kamaiya Women Development Forum Dhangadhi has taught the Mukta Kamaiya family to cultivate vegetables using mulching technology.

Former president of the forum, Kaushila Chaudhary, said that 25 freed Kamaiya families involved in vegetable farming were taught how to cultivate with mulching plastic.

“We have been taught to cultivate vegetables in modern way to improve the income level of the freed Kamaiya families by providing technicians,” he said, adding, “We have provided seeds, chemical fertilizers, pesticides and fungicides in grant.” ’

Swastima Chaudhary, a local farmer, said that they have been relieved from the problems of pests and weeds after they started vegetable farming with the help of this technology. “This technology is capable of keeping the soil moist,” he said, adding, “Most of the families involved in vegetable farming have been using mulching technology for chilli, tomato and capsicum farming for the past three years.” ’

According to him, the production of farming using this technique is double than that of the traditional method. According to him, a single farmer used to sell vegetables worth Rs 50,000 to Rs 70,000 in a season but now with the use of this technology, he has started selling vegetables worth Rs 200,000 to 500 thousand.

Binay Raj Joshi, an officer at the Agriculture Development Section of the municipality, said that the use of plastic has been increasing rapidly among the farmers in recent years. According to him, the Mukta Kamaiya family, who are involved in vegetable farming, have been successful in increasing the production after they started using this technology.

“This technology aims to protect soil moisture, control weeds and increase crop yields,” he said. This reduces the need for irrigation and ensures optimal utilization of water. ’

According to him, weeds do not grow when sunlight does not reach the soil, which reduces both labor and cost. This technique also works to keep the soil temperature healthy by keeping the plants healthy, reducing the risk of soil-borne diseases and insects, and reducing the use of chemical pesticides.

Stating that this technology is very useful for farmers, he said mulching reduces the possibility of fertilizer being washed away by rain or irrigation water and helps increase productivity by stabilizing soil nutrients.

According to Forum Chairperson Seema Chaudhary, the Forum has been implementing programs including vegetable farming, pig rearing and poultry rearing with the objective of supporting the income of the women from the Mukta Kamaiya community for the past five years. Only two days ago, 16 freed Kamaiyas involved in vegetable farming were provided with plastic used in mulching.

Ward chair Bahadur Singh Mahara expressed happiness over the fact that the Muktakamaiya family has become self-reliant through commercial farming on a small land. “In the past, most of the freed Kamaiya families used to earn their livelihood by working as daily wage labourers”, he said, adding, “Now some are involved in modern vegetable farming and some have been earning income by doing skill-based work. ’