#the2020project

This last month has seen a lot of monitoring and evaluation of our project in Nepal. Our field staff have been busy visiting farmers who have been trained over the last two years to check on their progress. The farmer training has continued with 34 new farmers being trained in the coffee cycle management and the model farm coffee nursery expansion has progressed.

Farmers meet to discuss some of the challenges of growing coffee and to learn from each other's experiences. 

Last year The 20/20 Project distributed 10,000 coffee plants and shade trees to local farmers who had been trained in climate-smart coffee growing. One of the indicators of success is to see how these farmers are getting on one year later and of course, how their coffee trees are doing. Our field staff visited 155 farmers who received training to check on the progress of their coffee crops. 

The staff were very happy to see that in nearly all cases the trees were growing well and the farmers had taken the training on board. In some cases, our agricultural advisor was able to help the farmers with some practical pest issues and nutrient deficiencies. These follow up visits are crucial to the success of the project but are also take a lot of time. The terrain in this remote area can be tricky to negotiate, especially when it rains! The farmers get a renewed motivation when someone is on site to give them the practical advice they need. 

The 20/20 Project established 9 coffee farmer groups last year. These groups are essential for the farmers to learn from each other and share their experiences. The groups also help articulate the collective challenges to our field staff so that plans can be put in place to mitigate against any potential issues. 

The farmer groups meet regularly to discuss the different seasonal work which needs to be carried out. The farmers can share their resources and can prepare in good time for some of the upcoming seasonal challenges. These group meetings are also great forums to talk about current market prices for coffee, and how the groups will market and sell their coffee in the future. The groups have received leadership training which has helped them establish committees and inclusive structures within the groups.

This farmer group is discussing some of the best approaches to preparing the land for new coffee plants. Our social mobiliser is giving a recap on some of the techniques they learnt last year. 

These farmer groups give the farmers more power when selling their coffee to the government exchange or private buyers. The chairperson, Guradatta Dahal met with our field staff to discuss the challenges that some of the farmers are facing. As the coffee tree does not produce a crop until the plant is at least three years old, Gurdatta expressed his concern that some of the farmers are neglecting some of their plants in favour of current crops. In this area of Nepal, it is common for farmers to grow one or two coffee plants. These plants are often neglected and therefore do not produce a good crop. This then increases the likelihood that the farmers will not put aside more land to grow more coffee, despite the higher market prices and lower water needs than some of their current crops. Gurdatta has seen the positive impact of the field visits to the farmers and has asked The 20/20 Project to increase their visits to help encourage and motivate the farmers. We have already seen the positive impact this is having with farmers taking positive steps to work on their coffee trees and to also prepare new land for more plants in June when the rains will come. 

It is encouraging to have both the positive feedback from the farmer groups and to get out and see the farmers growing and tending to their coffee plants.