Back to nature | Career Bazaar

Most of our ancestors were farmers, tilling their own land, planting paddy or raising cattle. Farming may seem like an outdated career but farmers are what our country needs to feed the growing population and for trade. Nepal has plenty of flora and fertile soil so embrace the earth and it will bless you.

Sounds romantic? Be warned because it's literally a hands-down job and a lot of hard work. However, the fruits you reap will give you more than just monetary benefits. Tough as it may be but it guarantees peace of mind, provided you have a good harvest, of course.

Nepal still lags behind the rest of the world when it comes to farming and agriculture. But that is not a problem. Farming doesn't necessarily mean ploughing acres or planting paddy in rain-soaked mud.

There are plenty of other options to choose from. Having a science background helps when it comes to understanding plants and animals because farming is all about living life in symbiosis with other organisms. "It is a sea of possibilities, you might drown yourself," says Bhola Singh Basnet, agricultural researcher and chief of Communications and Publications Department, National Agricultural Council.

One of Nepal's major problems is the growing population and the lack of agricultural land to feed the hungry masses. Majority of the Nepali farmers are subsistence farmers, which means they produce just enough to feed their families. Scarcity of land means the country does not produce enough to support the population. Farming only contributes 35-40 percent to the national GDP. So what can we do?

As markets open up, there are niche areas where one can thrive. Today, organic farming is all the rage in western countries because they produce products grown without the use of chemical fertilisers. Even in Nepal, there are some who have ventured into organic farming producing vegetables that taste much better than those grown using chemical fertilisers.

Another area to explore is producing high value commodities. These are produces like herbs, mushrooms and off-season vegetables using modern techniques and special seeds. Rainbow trout, a freshwater fish, sells at Rs 300 a kilo and is a new market that is opening up among Kathmandu's connoisseurs.

If you don't have land but are still interested in agriculture, don't worry. Agricultural research offers countless opportunities and you might even be able to contribute more by learning newer techniques and teaching our farmers new ways to help them grow better quality products. "I'm studying horticulture with conservation ecology. I wanted to work in the villages of Nepal," says Deepti Uprety who studies at Rampur Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science.

Kabindra Pradhan, agriculture expert with a degree in Agriculture and Animal Husbandry from GB Panta University in India, has spent four decades researching on agriculture in Nepal. He says with the limited land and the government policy, there might not be much scope for large scale agro production but there is plenty to do in the field of research.

You might be surprised to know that Nepal had more than 1,700 species of rice some of which were renowned for their taste and aroma. Sadly, modern technology and the Green Revolution, which encourages the use of genetically patented seeds that yield more, most of these indigenous rice plants have disappeared. Nepal now needs the younger generation to do some serious research on agriculture. This might not make us the richest country in the world but it will certainly help us become independent.

WHERE TO STUDY IN NEPAL

The Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science in Rampur, Chitwan, offers a BSc degree in Agriculture and a Master's degree in 12 faculties.

Himalayan College of Agriculture and Science and Technology in Ghattaghar, Kathmandu, offers degrees in Dairy Science and Meat Science.