Chitwan, June 28:

Women in Shivnagar of Chitwan district are committed to producing vegetables without using pesticides. Instead of using chemically produced insecticides, they are using leaves of plants and cow urine to combat the pests affecting the vegetables.

These women turned to organic pesticides for saving their vegetable crops after the district-based Underground Water Irrigation Organization (UWIO) with the assistance of Janakpur-based community Underground Irrigation Sector Project recently held a training course on growing vegetables without the use of chemical pesticides. Om Prakash Pokhrel, chairman of Chitwan UWIO, said thirty persons including 20 women attended the training course held in the building of Shivnagar VDC.

“We learnt during the training that we can save vegetables and other crops using Neem leaves and cow urine as alternatives to chemical pesticides,” vegetable farmer Sharada Poudel said, adding that the use of chemical pesticides had had an adverse effect on the standard of food and fertility of land and was harmful to human health.

“I will suggest to all of my neighbors to refrain from using chemical pesticides while growing vegetables and other crops,” another participant in the training, Saraswati Poudel said.

“Ever since the training I have been planting vegetables without the use of chemical pesticides,” workshop participant Madhu Timilsina said.

Social worker Gunraj Pathak said the use of chemical pesticides was debasing the quality of the soil and causing a decrease in fertility of land.

“There will be professionalism in farming if farmers adopt the method of farming without the use of chemical pesticides,” seed conservation officer at the Janakpur-based community Underground Irrigation Sector Project, Bamdev Ghimire said.