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Saturday, March 27, 2010

The Story of a Farmer

The Story of a Farmer
Hari Bahadur who lives in one of the remote villages in Nepal.Nepal is a poor,agriculture –based hilly country.Hari Bahadur is one of the many farmers whose livelihood is solely based on the crops he grows in his small farm.He is a hard working farmer and supports his wife and children through his labour.

One day a team of International Non-Governmental Organisers come to his village.They teach the village farmers new things about farming and crop fertilizers.They tell them about how to increase the growth of crops by putting different chemical fertilizers .The INGO officers distribute various seeds to the farmers and give instructions how to plant and grow them.The villagers are overjoyed and happy .They thank the officers and take the seeds home.

In time they plant them in their fields including Hari Bahadur. When the harvesting comes the yield is almost double. Hari Bahadur is very happy and thanks the INGO officers from abroad again.The chemical fertilizers have really worked. He just waits eagerly to plant next seasonal crops.But this time the result is not as expected. The yield is less than before.Nevertheless, he does not lose heart and still next season season the crops grew minimal.Now ,he is a bit worried as his and his family’s livelihood is being apparently threatned. He wonders now what the chemical fertilizers contained.They had ruined the normal soil consistency as to make it infertile.He had no knowledge before that right quantity and quality of safely tested fertilizers only were good for crop and soil.The strong experimental fertilizers had ruined soil composition of the whole village.

The small amount of crops now grew in Hari Bahadur’s land and even that could not be irrigated properly.The rivers nearby had all dried due to global climate change.There was no more snow to melt down into the river.Hari Bahadur was not actually familiar with the concept of global warming or climate change and yet at the same time , he was being affected by it.

Now, Hari Bahadur must find an alternative source of income to support himself and his family as the land does not suffice.He enters the nearby forest and begins cutting down trees.Some he would sell and little he would take home to use.It’s not easy though cause forest rangers are on the watch for villagers cutting down trees.Little does he know about the implications of felling of trees on the planet or would be little bothered if someone explained it to him.He had bigger problems of his and his family to worry about.

This is not just about one Hari Bahadur but the story is true about many like him living in different places in many underdeveloped countries.

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