- Appropriate vertical and horizontal integration components need to be identified to
promote natural resource-based farming systems. - Indigenous-based products should get more market incentives. Support from big
trade partners is necessary by bringing small home gardeners in their network. - Appropriate market strategy supporting home gardening as a viable enterprise
should be developed rather than the strategy supporting hi-tech product marketing. - Institutional network should be established. More roles should be given to community
groups with partnership with NGOs. - More emphasis on farmer-to-farmer extension should be given rather than agency to
farmer model. In this context, LI-BIRD is also as an agency similar to a governmental
agency. - In-situ biodiversity plan and program, particularly establishing FPR and diversity at
the genetic level should be strengthened. Use home gardening as the only primary
loci for this. - Priority fixation is necessary to develop home gardening.
- Resource generation particularly at community level is necessary. Encourage local
governments such as DDC and VDCs to put some levy on commercial farm products
going out of the location to create funds. - Local agricultural-development funds should be established in line with drinking water
funds etc., a portion of which must go for home gardening projects.
REMEMBER: It is the farmer's homestead that counts for agrobiodiversity.CONCLUSION
- Farmers are the loci of home gardening, in particular to agro-diversity.
- They are creators as well as the destroyers of diversity.
- The government should now limit its role to policy and program monitoring and
facilitating and encourage other partners, particularly community groups for the
program implementation. - Value addition of indigenous knowledge and access to world market.
- FS approach only should be promoted, include herbs as a component of FS.
- Sustainable resource generation and management are necessary.
- Projects can only be pilot scale work and establish program and resource norms.
Other partners should take the pilot innovations made by the projects such as the
home garden project of LI-BIRD.
REFERENCES
HMG/N, National Planning Commission. Tenth Five-Year Plan (1993-1998)
Pulami RP and Paudel, D, 2004. Home Garden's Contribution to Livelihoods of Nepalese
Farmers. A paper presented in the seminar organized by LIBIRD, Pokhara, 6-7
August, 2004
LIBIRD Nepal. Background materials