Nepal: Changing Climate Changing Crop Cultivation

In western countries, some people often like to say that there is nothing called climate change or rise in sea level or the earth is getting hot. Of course, because of industrialization, in large cities, people cannot understand the real quality of nature. Their life does not defend on rain or snow. In poor countries like Nepal, the farmers have to rely on rainfall and changing pattern of rainfall is directly hurting them. So, there has been a change in crop cultivation too. Now, some farmers have realized that instead of cultivating rice and other traditional crops, they should go for banana cultivation.

The number of farmers cultivating bananas is increasing in the recent months and these farmers are worried about climate change and unpredictability of nature. Temperature is increasing or in other words, it is becoming hotter. Also, monsoon rain starts some early and when it is the time of paddy cultivation, the weather is drier compared to the past.

This is a cause of concern and I am afraid that this trend can spread in other parts of South Asia too.

(This entry was first published in March 2009. Because of a technical problem, the entry had to be deleted and I am reposting again now.)

Bird Flu in Nepal 2009 and Poultry Farmers

Having bird flu is not good thing for the economy of any country. Poultry is a big sector in almost all the South Asian countries and many people are directly or indirectly dependent on this sector. So, when I read the news items regarding bird flue in Nepal, the first thought that came to my mind was what would happen to the poultry farmers. For getting background information regarding the emergence of bird flu in the country, you can read these two reports:

Another outbreak of bird flu hits Nepal

Bird flu confirmed in eastern Nepal, emergency area declared

I just hope that the government looks after the farmers now. The farmers will lose a lot of money and some of them may even get bankrupt. The country’s government should instruct the banks to have a sympathetic attitude towards the farmers. It is not that I expect that the banks would give any loss. However, the bankers can surely decide not to make any profit from these miserable and poor farmers.

(This entry was first published in February 2009. Because of a technical problem, the entry had to be deleted and I am reposting again now.)