Under ICFON’s ‘Livelihood Improvement through Agriculture Development Activites’ project, 12 farmers were chosen to be supported with drip irrigation in their farm. Among them ISARD has managed to successfully install the technology in four of the farmers’ plastic tunnels. Bhakta Bahadur Thami of Dhuskun – 4, Bir Bahadur Shrestha of Dhuskun – 9, Ganesh Lama of Dhuskun – 5, and Padam Bahadur Thami of Dhuskun – 8 were provided 100 liters’ drum each that were fitted with pipes. While the initial estimation allocated a budget of Rs. 10,000 for each farmer, the installation was cheaper, at Rs. 4,200 each. Considering this, ISARD has decided to increase the number of the benefiting farmers under this program. The same technology has also been installed in the demonstration farm of ISARD. The full potential of the drip irrigation system however has yet to be tested since irrigation as of the moment is not a problem because of the monsoon. Its true utilization and benefits will only be seen during the dryer/winter season.
Installation of the system in the remaining farms will continue post monsoon.