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AGRICULTURE
Plastic pollution in farms can be reduced at the source by promoting leaf bags to grow vegetable seedlings. These leaf bags are made from locally available tree leaves and are relatively easy to prepare. Since a farmer can prepare hundreds of leaf bags in a short time, leaf bags is a low-cost, environment-friendly, and economically viable solution to the widespread use of plastic in agricultural farms.
Polybags made of plastic are widely used in nurseries and farms in Nepal to grow seedlings. These polybags, rarely reused, are eventually dumped in the soil or burned. When burned or exposed solar radiation they generate greenhouse gas emissions, tehreby creating a long-term environmental problem. They also make their way into rivers, polluting the entire river ecosystem.
Leaf bags, composed of locally available tree leaves, could offer an alternative to plastic-made polybags. These leaf bags are generally used to grow vegetable seedlings. Since a farmer can prepare hundreds of leaf bags in a short time, leaf bags are a low-cost, environment-friendly, and economically viable solution to the widespread use of plastic in agricultural farms.
Our idea is to reduce the use of polybags at the source by providing an alternative. First, farmers collect leaves from nearby trees . They then cut these leaves into the required shape and weave them into a bag with the use of bamboo sticks. Farmers then fill these leaf bags with soil mixture treated beforehand (a three-week process involving sieving and mixing with organic fertiliser, ash, cow dung, etc.) and make multiple pores to maintain air and water flow. They then plant seedlings prepared in these leaf bags into their fields.
As part of a pilot study, we virtually trained more than 200 smallholder and commercial farmers (including rooftop practitioners and nursery managers) from Kaski and Tanahun districts in the preparation and use leaf bags in their farms. We disseminated video materials and brochures on the method and use of leaf bags to farmers. Devilal Baral, a farmer in Pumdi-Bhumdi, Kaski, has been using leaf bags after learning about them from a neighbour who attended our training. He says, ‘I’ve been using leaf bags to grow seedlings for a few years now. It’s easier and environmentally friendly. It costs nothing to collect the raw materials from nearby trees. I’ve also taught many farmers how to prepare these leaf bags’.
Ramesh Timilsina Local Solutions Pvt. Ltd. Email: fr.rameshtim@gmail.com Contact number: 9856072638
Each of the RMS solutions are linked to the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals outlined by the UN in 2015. The SDGs that this intervention contributes to are as follows:
