Santi Budha of Patarsi Rural Municipality -4 , Jumla, is a Rural Service Provider (RSP) who has realized the benefits of cash crops, and mix cropping farming system rather than only planting traditional food items. Budha had attended a capacity development program for RSPs which covered issues on extended agricultural practices, diversified crops and improved farming systems. For Budha, growing local crops in variety to consume them for nutritional value and income generation both seemed crucial. Hence, she decided to help the villagers understand the benefits of growing multiple crops and consuming in variety for nutritional intake. She reflected, “Our villages practiced conventional agriculture where they grew food grains for subsistence use. They lacked diverse diet production and consumption.”

As a facilitator of women cooperative groups in Rini, Urthu, Godasen and Bata villages of Patarasi rural municipality, Budha has taken crucial steps to support the villagers, particularly through the women members of the group. She has developed a concept note on producing crops such as beans, cabbages, carrots, cauliflowers, etc for consumption and income. In this process, she collaborated with Himalayan Cooperatives to gain support on seeds of carrots, beans, cabbages and facilitated an agreement between this cooperative and the women ’s group. The Himalayan Cooperatives supported women with seeds and technical assistance in production. This cooperative also bought the products from them. In this process women became a part of Himalayan Cooperatives. This year (2020), 15 members produced mixed food grains and vegetables such as carrots, beans, maize. The result of such engagement has been fruitful in both production and consumption of local and nutritious food.

Upon realizing the effect of promoting locally produced and nutritious crops, Budha has been continuing by educating more groups. This year she also shared this knowledge to the mother ’s groups in the villages she has been associated with. Hence, the members of this group have also begun with diverse cropping. Though Buda has helped raise awareness and embedded practice of systematic agriculture system with farmers becoming successful, the Covid-19 pandemic impacted marketing of the products. Only in year 2020, the villagers produced 800 kilograms of carrots and 63 kilograms of carrot seeds. However, due to market disruption caused by the pandemic, the dismayed farmers had to sell a kilogram of carrot for NPR 30 as opposed to the market price being NPR 100. At present this group has been planning to visit the Rural Municipality Office in Lasi, the NAARC, Agriculture Development Office and Himalayan Cooperative for suggestions and concerns regarding livelihood compensation.