Saturday weekly market in Shadananda Municipality, Bhojpur. Photo: Pitambar Shrestha/CSB Nepal.

After decades of research and advocacy, local authorities in Nepal have started integrating conservation and sustainable use of agrobiodiversity as a component of their regular agriculture development activities.

Shadananda Municipality in the Bhojpur district is rich in agrobiodiversity. As one of the remote districts in Nepal, modern agricultural practices have not yet displaced the local agrobiodiversity. Weekly markets on Saturdays, Mondays, and Wednesdays at town centers like Dingla are bustling with an array of local produce including black gram, brown sesame, ghee, highland potatoes, rudraksha (Elaeocarpus ganitrus), and much more.

‘Oranges from Dingla’, as they are known, used to be carried on foot for days by farmers from Shadananda in their traditional bamboo baskets called dhakar. These local oranges are beloved by consumers in Dharan, the gateway to Nepal’s eastern hills. With a better road network today, many middlemen now buy ‘Oranges from Dingla’ directly from farmers and sell them to customers in Dharan.

While better market access brings new opportunities, it also increases the risks that smallholders lose their locally adapted agrobiodiversity, a resource that has sustained the community for generations. There are many cases where farmers have realized the importance of local agrobiodiversity only after losing a significant amount of them.

To raise local awareness about the multiple values of agrobiodiversity, the Community Seed Banks Association of Nepal (CSB Nepal) has stepped in.

In 2024, at the request of CSB Nepal, the Center for Crop Development and Agrobiodiversity Conservation (CCDABC) under the Department of Agriculture (DoA) included Shadananda Municipality in its Agrobiodiversity Conservation Program. As part of this initiative, an interaction program on agrobiodiversity and the roles of community seed banks was jointly organized by the municipality and CSB Nepal on January 7, 2025.

The event proved to be an eye-opening experience for the elected representatives of the municipality.

Pitambar Shrestha, Program Advisor of CSB Nepal, emphasized the significance of agrobiodiversity for both human health and ecological well-being. Additionally, the discussion led to a preliminary action plan including systematic documentation of local crop diversity and traditional knowledge, the establishment of a community seed bank, and the opening of a sales outlet for local produce.

Community seed banks are especially suited to safeguard and provide continued access to locally adapted and cherished seeds and planting materials that are typically not available through the formal system.

Mr. Surendra Kumar Udas, Mayor of Shadananda Municipality. Photo: Pitambar Shrestha/CSB Nepal.

The roles of local government in promoting the conservation and sustainable use of local crop diversity were discussed. The chief guest and mayor of Shadananda Municipality, Surendra Kumar Udas, expressed his commitment to systematically implementing an agrobiodiversity program within the municipality and creating the required legal space. The initiative will be carried out in close collaboration with CSB Nepal.

The vice mayor, Pramila Rai, emphasized the importance of local crop diversity and committed to launching a Kosheli Ghar, a sales outlet for local produce at Dingla.

Ms Pramila Rai, Vice Mayor  of Shadananda Municipality. Photo: Pitambar Shrestha/CSB Nepal

The interaction program was chaired by Nima Sherpa, the coordinator of the Agriculture Development Committee in the municipality. The chairperson gave his endorsement for the successful implementation of the agrobiodiversity program in the municipality.

The collaboration between Shadananda Municipality and CSB Nepal shows a way for other municipalities in the country to advance their agrobiodiversity programs.

The article was written by Pitambar Shrestha and reviewed by Sajal Sthapit and Ronnie Vernooy.