Landline program online

July 31st, 2017All Project Updates, CommunitiesNo Comments

The Australian TV program Landline recently paid a visit to Nepal to do a feature on the research for development programs that ACIAR are undertaking in the region.

The program covered:

  • New forestry aid projects, with local partners developing better forest management practices to help villagers improve their livelihoods and food security
  • Conservation farming projects that aim to improve farming techniques like leaving crop stubble in the ground to improve soil health and retain moisture
  • Improved irrigation and water management for dry season crop production based on collective farming groups.

The film crew spent one and a half days at our Saptari sites capturing photographs and video footage of our project and the communities we work with. While only a small amount of this has been captured in the short video clips attached, they provide a powerful reminder of the important of our research program and the programs run by ACIAR.

A particular thanks goes to Ram and Manita as well as iDE who facilitated the program on site which has created broad awareness of the work we are doing. Also thanks to our farmers and communities who are always generous in their time to share with others there activities, and show their excitement in our project in the attached images.

The following links provide access to a background video:

and the feature shown on Australian TV on 30 July.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-29/growing-hope:-australian-agricultural-aid/8756796

Irrigation System Performance Assessments in Saptari

July 19th, 2017All Project Updates, Irrigation, Solar energyNo Comments

Irrigation System Performance assessments were recently conducted in Saptari (Nepal). These assessments investigated the Distribution Uniformity on the drip and micro sprinkler irrigation systems, and the performance of the micro-solar and electric pumps. These assessments are important to help the farmers manage their water and energy use.

Ensuring that the system is operating evenly and efficiently keeps the operating costs associated with irrigation to a minimum. This video shows the farmer groups participating in the data collection to help them understand the importance of system maintenance and matching irrigation application with crop water requirement.

Calculating the Distribution Uniformity of an irrigation system is a simple test that can be undertaken with minimal equipment. The training sheet below provides an example and instruction on  how to perform the test and also the calculation sheet for determining the system Distribution Uniformity.

Click to watch the video or download the training sheet on Calculating the Uniformity of Drip Irrigation