Panchakanya Agriculture Cooperative Limited

Panchakanya was formally incorporated in 2004 as a women’s agricultural cooperative. Its mission is “to improve the social and economic well-being of the members by promoting self-help and mutual cooperation.” It focuses on promoting organic production by its members and by non-members and other farmers in surrounding villages.

Today Panchakanya has 35 members. Husbands and other male family members are invited to participate, but the women are the formal members and leaders. The focus on women reflects a broad understanding that in members’ farms, women usually do most of the work and understand best their farms’ needs.

The average land holding of each member-farmer is a tiny 0.3 hectares. During the main growing season, the summer, the principal crops are tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, and pumpkins. In winter, when off-season vegetables command a higher price, members focus on peas, potatoes, leafy vegetables, cauliflower, and cabbage. While the cooperative markets these vegetables collectively in villages and in Kathmandu, many of the members also sell some of their produce individually.

One hundred percent of the cooperative members are farming organically. Accompanying the shift to organics is an increased commitment to producing farm inputs locally. Compost teas, for example, can be inexpensively made from cow urine and locally available plant extracts. Members also try to buy supplies from one another. “We only buy hybrid seeds from outside the village—about ten percent of all the seeds used,” notes Nirmala.

The push for localization has spawned a village inputs center, which supplies seeds and other materials to cooperative members and prevents member-farmers from wasting valuable time—and money—buying from many different sources outside the community. Panchakanya’s vice chairwoman agreed to start such a business herself, operating it out of her house. She contributes a certain percentage of the business to the cooperative, and keeps the rest as her own profit.

Technological innovations are helping boost crop yields for some members. Last year the cooperative initiated off- season tomato cultivation using plastic tunnels, with the technical and financial support of the government’s District Agricultural Development Office, or DADO. Five farmers took part in the pilot, and all are now seeing greater profits. “We are very encouraged. This technology has enabled us to grow tomatoes during the rainy season (June- September) when we get a good price for the produce,” says farmer Bhoj Raj Fuyal.

Nirmala is upbeat about the future of the cooperative: “In cereals, crop productivity is already equal to non-organic farms. For vegetables, it is still twenty-five percent lower compared to those using chemical fertilizers, but rising productivity is the trend.” It’s true that in the first year or two of organic growing, members don’t make much of a profit. But, Uddav explains, “Production will be profitable in about two to three years time, after management practices— especially pest management—are improved. We already have indirect benefits in terms of improved health and environment.”

Panchakanya is currently operating in the black, with profit-sharing practices in place. And the total value of member ownership shares is NPR 141,435 (US $1,911). The cooperative has received several helpful grants from DADO, the District Development Committee, the Market Development Directorate, and the National Cooperative Development Board.

Member incomes are also up. This is striking, given that farmers are not getting the full premiums they ultimately might from organic agriculture. For certain crops, productivity is still 20-25% lower than that of than non-organic farms, but input costs are also lower. “Despite having lower yields in organic vegetable production,” Nirmala observes, “we are satisfied because our produce has better quality compared to what is available in the market.” On average, the 35 farmers are earning nearly US $1,000 per year from the sale of organic vegetables, plus income from other sources such as cereal crops and the sale of milk and other livestock products.

Although many of Panchakanya’s members are still working to increase yields and secure organic price premiums, its farmers and the surrounding community have already benefitted in other ways. For one, Panchakanya has served as a powerful model for the empowerment of women in rural Nepalese society. According to Bhimendra Katwal, former country director of Winrock International’s Farmer to Farmer program in Nepal, “This is very rare. Some women’s cooperatives or groups are coming up in some parts of the country, but if you look a few years back, very few women would be directly in charge. This group and others are starting to change that.”

The women leading Panchakanya have quickly pushed the cooperative’s business horizons. They have created a microlending enterprise, where each member deposits NPR 100 (US $1.30) per month. Loans are used to buy agricultural inputs and support animals, as well as to meet household and community needs. This allows the farmers to rely on themselves instead of on financial intermediaries or external financial institutions.

The community also enjoys lower health care costs as a result of reduced pesticide use. Plus, reports Nirmala, “the incidence of diarrhea and dysentery in our village is much less than the nearby villages because of increased awareness of proper sanitation and the consumption of fresh organic vegetables.” Bhimendra says Panchakanya’s villagers are eating food that is less contaminated and enjoying a higher standard of living, which has resulted in improved sanitation measures such as adding toilets to houses and improving the community’s water supply. Nirmala reports that “the incidence of diseases of crops and livestock has become lower than before.”

Finally, the cooperative has spawned other projects that have solidified local support and attracted new members. A new road, built with contributed labor from cooperative members and other community members, provides new transportation infrastructure for the community. The cooperative also has planted trees that, once they mature, will feed livestock, increase compost supplies, and provide additional income through their fruit and timber.