Repaired canal boosts agricultural products and farmers’ confidence
Kathmandu, 16 July 2018 - An irrigation canal constructed at Kanepokhari Rural Municipality-1 in Morang district has become the, lifeline to more than 200 farmers of Gada Tole, Bharnaghutu, Bisanpur and adjoining settlements in the district. This canal irrigates more than 200 hectares of agricultural land of the areas. The devastating floods in August 2017 heavily damaged more than 300 meters of the canal which disrupted the irrigation facility, thereby causing a decline in paddy production.
2017 proved to be a disastrous year as the people suffered from the unprecedented flood and forced the farmers to depend on monsoon rain to cultivate paddy. The decline in paddy production rendered the farmers miserable. Moreover, they had no resources to repair the damaged portion of the canal. Inability to repair the canal meant a protracted period of dependence on monsoon for farming.
As the repair was beyond their capacity, they were in a dilemma whether to seek other options to repair the canal or lease the land to someone for growing non-timber forest products. But leasing the land was also a difficult choice for them.
In-between they were lobbying with the local government seeking their support to repair the canal and revive their lifeline facilities. They submitted a proposal to Kanepokhari Rural Municipality to repair the canal seeking NPR 500,000 from the local government along with their commitment for labor contribution.
Although, the local government was positive towards their proposal they asked for additional local contribution from the community and committed to provide NPR 150,000 only to repair the canal as they received an avalanche of similar requests from a number of flood-affected communities.
The amount committed by the Municipality was far below their demand and required budget for the repair of the canal. Therefore, the farmers were confused whether to accept the grant or go for seeking support from other sources to meet the minimal cost besides labor contribution. Those farmers who had lad at the starting point of the canal were in a mood to accept the amount whereas the farmers whose land were at the end of the catchment area of the canal were reluctant as the amount was way behind requirement.
Later on, the ‘Gada Tole Disaster Management Committee’ established by the farmers of Gada Tole took the initiation to explore other possibilities of funding with their detailed plan and approached the Lutheran Community Welfare Society (LCWS), an implementing partner of LWF Nepal, for the unmet resources to repair the canal through Users Committee. The LCWS have conducted an assessment of the damage to the canal and agreed to provide NPR 50,000 to the users committee.
The community people made a significant contribution to repair the damaged section of the canal mobilizing human resources and local materials. As a result, the repair was finished before planned timeframe. Now the canal is fully functional and the farmers have been able to irrigate their paddy field. Mr Sufal Murmu, 47, Chair of the Users Committee, says, “Now we are happy with this repair and the debate has also ended with the completion of the repair.”
