Parámetros a Medir

The importance of agriculture in the study area is evident. Terraced fields have been constructed all around the village, both on flat land in the valley bottom and on the surrounding slopes. Agricultural land is categorized into three different types; Khet, the irrigated land which is generally used to grow rice and wheat, bari is the un-irrigated land generally used to grow corn, potato and millet, and pakho that constitute the less favourable and non-irrigated lands that are mostly used for collection of fodder for livestock, and for planting trees. The farming system of Melamchi is mainly based on traditional skills, methods and crops, and most farmers make little use of external inputs. Ploughing, levelling of land and other field preparation is primarily done with oxen or buffaloes, simple hand tools and human labour. Tractors and other mechanical equipment are rarely seen in Melamchi. The reason for this is mainly the economic expenses, but also because tractors are poorly adapted to the physical environment in this area. Informants reported that tractors would be too big and heavy for the narrow terraced fields and the steep slopes. “Tractors and big buffaloes are better in the Terai region where the fields are flat, while oxen are more suitable for these

terraced fields” (Male, 79). Even though mechanical equipment is rarely used in the study area, the usage of chemical fertilizer, pesticides and insecticides has gradually become more extensive.

Livestock is another important unit in the farming system. In addition to being used for transportation, ploughing and other types of heavy farm work, the livestock provide households with assets like milk, eggs and meat. The animal manure is used as natural fertilizer in the fields since it adds nutrients to the soil and thus prevents soil depletion.

Animal husbandry relieves farmers of some of the workload and makes them less dependent on chemical fertilizer and commodities from the local market. In return for these favours farmers provide their farm animals with fodder consisting of different types of grains and crops residuals in addition to leaves, herbs and grasses collected from the community owned forests. Bedding for the animals is also collected from the forests. In this way the agro-pastoral system is linked to the forest.

The main crops cultivated in this area are rice, wheat, potato, maize and various types of vegetables. Seasonal variations in temperature and precipitation allow farmers to practice crop rotation where various types of crops are grown in the same fields at different times of the year. The relatively warm climate allows for double cropping of rice in some fields if the water availability is sufficient. This is favourable to the local farmers since rice is the most important crop in this area.

Agriculture is irrefutably dependent on sufficient amounts of water. Irrigation channels are constructed in order to lead water from small streams to the fields, but the amount of water is not constant. Water pipes are also used, but they are often poorly constructed and can lead only small amounts of water. Being a gravity dependent system, water pipes were sometimes seen hanging from tree tops in order to get the right gradient to lead water to the lower-lying fields. Even though some irrigation facilities exist, agriculture in this area is mostly rain-fed.

5.1.1 Agricultural calendar

As mentioned, agricultural activities largely depend on rainfall since irrigation facilities are limited. This, along with temperature variations, means that productive activities in the farming system vary with season. An agricultural calendar (Figure 4) has been sketched up in collaboration with informants in order to give an overview of the distribution of agricultural

The peak agricultural seasons comes after periods of rain, and the busiest period for agricultural activities starts in the end of the rainy season (monsoon season) which lasts from June until September. Informants reported that many households suffer a food deficit from August until the beginning of November, before the rice and millet crops are harvested.

During this time most people have to buy food from the local market. Insufficient preservation and storage facilities make it difficult for households to store food in order to avoid this period of food-insecurity.

Figure 4: Agricultural calendar of Melamchi.

Note: P= plant/sow, H=harvest.

I arrived in Melamchi in April, and at that time most of the farmers had started harvesting wheat and barley which they had planted in late November. Wheat is grown in khet (irrigated land) and after it has been harvested, these fields are prepared for the transplanting of rice seedlings. The preparation routine starts with ploughing of the fields, before the farmers start constructing dikes to hold water in the paddies. Both manure and chemical fertilizer are used to add nutrients to the fields, and this usually happens shortly after the fields have been ploughed and irrigated. Afterwards, the rice seedlings can finally be transplanted.

Maize is planted in the bari (un-irrigated land) in the beginning of April, and is harvested in late June. Millet is planted in mid-July, at the same time as the second rice crop of the season, and harvested in late October. Millet is also grown in bari fields. Potato is planted in bari in early November, just after various other vegetables like cauliflower, onion, garlic, beans, spinach, cabbage and peas have been planted. The ideal time to harvest these crops is in the

beginning of March. Bitter gourd, tomato and cucumbers are often grown in farmers’ home garden. Bitter gourd is planted in early February and harvested in April, while cucumber and tomato are grown twice each year.

There is an inevitable seasonality in the farming system as agricultural activities have lean and peak periods caused by climatic variation. This also affects the labour demand, which is clearly correlated with the agricultural seasons. The farming system of Melamchi has been refined over time in order to adapt to the local environment. Farms are not alike, and there will always be some physical, economic, social and/or cultural differences between them.

Still, some common traits can be identified in order to make a simplified description of the functions, units and interrelationships of farms in Melamchi.