Biotechnology in Agriculture

Bishnu Bhusal

Introduction

Biotechnology is a newly emerging field of science having tremendous benefit to mankind. The government of most developed countries and some developing countries have emphasized in biotechnological ventures due to its potential impact for economic development in future. In a country like Nepal having diversified agro-climatic conditions and with numerous agricultural and environmental problems, the role of genetic engineering and biotechnology for alleviating the quality of life of people can not be overlooked. The term biotechnology has attracted the attention of the people from many sectors in the recent years and has often been misinterpreted. According to Coleman (1986) ‘the term biotechnology means the application of scientific engineering principles to the processing of materials by biological agents to produce goods and services’. It includes the use of microbes, cells obtained from plant and animal excluding activities which involve whole plants or animals'.

In another word, 'biotechnology is the application of biological organism and molecules to technical and intestinal process (Prentiss, 1985)'.

Agriculture Biotechnology in Nepal

Biotechnology in the field of agriculture of Nepal is new andt we are more behind than the other developed country. In animal field biotechnical tools are limited in lab; organized farm and urban area to some extent. Recently some biotechnological practices like artificial insemination (AI), embryo transfer technology (ETT), invitro fertilization (IVF), pregnancy diagnosis (PD), fermentation, hormonal vaccine production, and animal tissue culture are being practiced mostly confined to lab and research center and AI in farmer’s level too.

In the field of plant improvement, biotechnology in Nepal is mostly limited to tissue culture activities that have been carried out in government sector as well as in private sectors. Beside tissue culture, some progress has been made on use of microorganism such as Rhizobia for biological nitrogen fixation, spawn of Agrotis and Pleutourus for commercial mushroom production. Since tissue culture technology is practiced more than other technology, a brief description of current status of plant tissue culture biotechnology is discussed here.

(a) Government Sectors

Among the Government sectors laboratories, tissue culture laboratories of 'Department of Plant Resources (DPR)' and 'Nepal Agriculture Research council (NARC)' are prominent. DPR running pilot project of producing 1, 00,000 invitro plantlets of disease-free banana and citrus for distribution. Similarly for last several years, potato research programme under NARC has been producing virus free seeds of potato in its tissue culture lab and green house. Similarly two other division of NARC namely soil and plant pathology division have been engaged in research and development on biological nitrogen fixation using various species of Rhizobium and spawn production and distribution for mushroom culture using two genera Agrotis and Pleurotus. Recently NARC has also established tissue culture laboratories at some agricultural research station at Dhankuta and Lumle. A tissue culture laboratory is also established in horticulture development project in Kirtipur. Decision of establishment of Gene bank in NARC, in near future is one of the positive aspect in biotechnology field of Nepal. Vaccine production against PPR using tissue culture has been going on at central veterinary lab (CVL) at Tripureswor. Application of AI techniques is being practiced since long time in grass root level too.

(b) Non Government Sector

Accompanied with government sector different non-government sector’s tissue culture laboratories has been established and some works are being carried out; some of the private sectors are as below

1) Botanical Enterprises Pvt. Ltd, Godawari

2) Nepal Biotechnology Nursery, Bhainsepati

3) Research Laboratory for Agriculture Biotechnology and Biodiversity (RLABB), Balkhu

4) Micro Plants, Kamal Pohkari.

5) Green Research and Technology (GREAT), Baneswor.

6) Himalayan Botanical Research Center (HIMBORCE), Baneswor

Biotechnology and Plant Field

Applications of biotechnology for the improvement of crop in different aspects are discussed below in brief.

1) Clonal Propagation

Invitro multiplication of elites and high yielding types would be useful for clonal propagation of different crops and are used in producing new varieties in vegetatively propagated crops such as potato, sugarcane etc. The reason for invitro clonal propagations also include ease and efficiency of increase, maintenance of heterozygosity, sexual sterility and for incompatibility problems, Thus reforestation of Nepal would require millions of plantlets, the most useful application of this technology could be for this purpose.

2) Pathogen Free Plants

By the application of biotechnology we are able to produce pathogen free plant. Exclusions and culture of the shoot meristem with only one or two leaf primordia often results in the physical elimination of virus (Karth 1984). Meristem-tip culture has also been used for elimination of bacteria, fungus from commercial plants such as carnations, gladioli; deffenbachia and nelargonium (Walkey 1978) are mentionable.

3) Germ Plasma Storage and Conservation

Biodiversity of many crops are lost each year by Neglect or mass eradication of their habitants for alternative uses. The objective of germ plasma conservation specifically of endangered, threatened and rare plants species is to ensure its availability in future for crop improvement. Thus by using biotechnology we can preserve genetic resources either in cryo preservation or gene bank which are used for crop improvement.

4) Somaclonal Variation

Somaclonal variation is one of the aspects of tissue culture technology and widely recommended for crop improvement especially of desired traits for drought, temperature and disease tolerance. Somaclonal variation is valuable source of new genetic information for breeders / geneticists which can be used in breeding purpose for crop improvement. Similarly protoclones or calliclones are produced from either single protoplast or single cells respectively and these often produced regenerated plants which show variation in phenotypes as compared to the original mother plant which is used for crop improvement.

5) Protoplast Culture or Fusion

Protoplast from different species can be induced to fuse by exposure to certain chemical or electric current. The resulting somatic hybrid may be grown invitro to produce callus tissue from which whole plant may be regenerated. Protoplast fusions help in crop improvement by somatic hybridization and cell modification to introduce novel gene or novel hybrid plant.

6) Production of Haploids by Anther Culture

The production of haploids and for spontaneous di-haploid plants through anther culture is extremely helpful in shortening the duration in varietals development. Haploids plants obtained either from anther culture or ovule culture may be grown normally under in-vitro condition up to flowering stage but viable gametes are not formed due to absence of onset of homologous chromosome and consequently there is no seed set. Application of haploids for crop improvement in plant breeding for releasing new varieties through fi-double-haploids system, selection of mutants resistant to disease, developing of asexual lines of trees/perennials species, transfer of desired alien genes etc.

Tissue Culture

Tissue culture technique has developed around the concept that a cell is totipotent that it has the capacity and ability to develop into whole organism. Explants can be obtained from inter-organ, inter-tissue and inter-cellular interactions and subjected to direct experimental control. Due to playing with plant tissues in laboratory this technique has been referred by some researchers as a 'botanical laser' whose numerous uses are yet to be fully understood.

Application of tissue culture techniques for improvement of crop of is shown in diagram below.

Clonal Propagation

Application in Animal Field

1) Artificial Insemination

A male animal produces millions of sperms daily. Theoretically it can be inseminate females regularly and produce several offspring's. This excess capacity of male has been utilized through developing new technologies for artificial insemination which can be said as the first biotechnology. In context of Nepal AI techniques is gaining popularity day-by-day.

2) Transgenic Animals

It involves the gene from one animal, modification of them in lab and introduction of them into animals of same or different species by using biotechnology and genetic engineering techniques. Transgenic animals have been instrumental in providing new insight into mechanism of development and developmental gene regulation, into the action of oncogenes and into the intricate cell interactions within the immune system.

Areas of possible investigation of domestic livestock by using the transgenic technology have been given in figure.

Milk Blood

* Increase production * Pharmaceuticals

* Milk addition * Circulating peptides

* Pharmaceuticals * D/S resistance

* Extraction

TRANSGENIC LIVESTOCK.

* By product * Hormones

* Feather * Releasing factors

*Wool * Neuropathies

(Source: A Text Book of Biotechnology R.C. Dubey, 2006, page no. 266)

3) Embryo transfer (ET)

ET is technique by which embryos (fertilized ova) are collected from the reproductive tract of a female animal prior nidation and transplanted into the reproductive tract of other animal to complete their gestation i.e. conception, implantation and delivery.

Applications of ET

a) New breeding strategies.

b) Reduction of the period of the animal improvement.

c) Higher replication rate of valuable genotype.

d) Fostering mother transfer immunity.

e) Conservation and utilization of genetic resources.

f) Study of reproductive disease.

4) Invitro-Fertilization (IVF) technology

The term 'invitro' means in glass or in artificial conditions and IVF refers to the fact that fertilization of egg by sperm had occurred not in uterus but outside the uterus at artificially maintained optimum condition. In recent years the IVF technology has revolutionized the field of animal biotechnology because of production of more and more animals as compared to animal production through normal cases.

5) Fermentation

Fermentation is defined as 'any anaerobic process for the production of useful products through mass culture of micro-organisms' where as in a biochemical sense this word means the numerous oxidation reduction reactions in which organic compounds used as a source of carbon and energy. Besides productions of beverages, food, fermentation technology is also used to produce major veterinary by products from microbial fermentation such as antibiotics, disease diagnostic reagents.

6) Vaccine production

Vaccine is chemical substances prepared from the proteins (antigen) of other animals which confer immunity to a particular vinrus. Vaccines may be live vaccines, killed vaccines, inactivated vaccines, sub-unit vaccines, DNA vaccines etc. For the synthesis of these types of vaccines biotechnological principles is used such as vaccines for Rabies virus (RV), vaccines for FMD virus (FMOV)

Other different possible application of biotechnology is animal field are.

7) Pregnancy Diagnosis.

8) Antibodies Tissue Culture and Cell Cultures.

9) Application of Molecular Markers in Improvement of Livestock.

10) Hormone Production.

11) Clinical Practices such as ELISA, MRI etc.

Conclusion

Applications of biotechnology in agriculture have been given more emphasize and up to some extent application of biotechnology will be a valuable tool in solving problems of hunger, energy supply, improving quality of life and to reduce environmental pollution. However in Nepal, we should refrain from doing basic research in biotechnology, we should mainly use proven technologies to enhance our traditional agriculture system. Our continuing pollution of atmosphere and the problem of feeding the human growing population will make agricultural biotechnology more important by releasing highly improved varieties/breeds which should be disease resistance, stress resistance with high production. Thus for the improvement of agricultural field in Nepal, importance of application of Biotechnology in agriculture field is increasing day-by-day.

References

Dubey, RC 2006, A Text Book of Biotechnology, S.Chand & Company Ltd.

Molecular Biology, Biotechnology and Environment, 1997 Nepal molecular Biology society (NEMBIS) Nepal

Ranjit, M 2007, 'Agriculture Biotechnology in Nepal’, Pratibimba, vol. 4.

Bishnu Bhusal 'Dangali'

B.Sc. (Hons) Ag. 5^th semester

wht is wto

Is it a bird, is it a plane? back to top There are a number of ways of looking at the WTO. It’s an organization for liberalizing trade. It’s a forum for governments to negotiate trade agreements. It’s a place for them to settle trade disputes. It operates a system of trade rules. (But it’s not Superman, just in case anyone thought it could solve — or cause — all the world’s problems!) Above all, it’s a negotiating forum … Essentially, the WTO is a place where member governments go, to try to sort out the trade problems they face with each other. The first step is to talk. The WTO was born out of negotiations, and everything the WTO does is the result of negotiations. The bulk of the WTO's current work comes from the 1986-94 negotiations called the Uruguay Round and earlier negotiations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The WTO is currently the host to new negotiations, under the “Doha Development Agenda” launched in 2001. Where countries have faced trade barriers and wanted them lowered, the negotiations have helped to liberalize trade. But the WTO is not just about liberalizing trade, and in some circumstances its rules support maintaining trade barriers — for example to protect consumers or prevent the spread of disease. It’s a set of rules … At its heart are the WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s trading nations. These documents provide the legal ground-rules for international commerce. They are essentially contracts, binding governments to keep their trade policies within agreed limits. Although negotiated and signed by governments, the goal is to help producers of goods and services, exporters, and importers conduct their business, while allowing governments to meet social and environmental objectives. The system’s overriding purpose is to help trade flow as freely as possible — so long as there are no undesirable side-effects — because this is important for economic development and well-being. That partly means removing obstacles. It also means ensuring that individuals, companies and governments know what the trade rules are around the world, and giving them the confidence that there will be no sudden changes of policy. In other words, the rules have to be “transparent” and predictable. And it helps to settle disputes … This is a third important side to the WTO’s work. Trade relations often involve conflicting interests. Agreements, including those painstakingly negotiated in the WTO system, often need interpreting. The most harmonious way to settle these differences is through some neutral procedure based on an agreed legal foundation. That is the purpose behind the dispute settlement process written into the WTO agreements. Born in 1995, but not so young back to top The WTO began life on 1 January 1995, but its trading system is half a century older. Since 1948, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) had provided the rules for the system. (The second WTO ministerial meeting, held in Geneva in May 1998, included a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the system.) It did not take long for the General Agreement to give birth to an unofficial,de facto international organization, also known informally as GATT. Over the years GATT evolved through several rounds of negotiations. The last and largest GATT round, was the Uruguay Round which lasted from 1986 to 1994 and led to the WTO’s creation. Whereas GATT had mainly dealt with trade in goods, the WTO and its agreements now cover trade in services, and in traded inventions, creations and designs (intellectual property).

... OR IS IT A TABLE? Participants in a recent radio discussion on the WTO were full of ideas. The WTO should do this, the WTO should do that, they said. One of them finally interjected: “Wait a minute. The WTO is a table. People sit round the table and negotiate. What do you expect the table to do?” ‘Multilateral’ trading system ... ... i.e. the system operated by the WTO. Most nations — including almost all the main trading nations — are members of the system. But some are not, so “multilateral” is used to describe the system instead of “global” or “world”. In WTO affairs, “multilateral” also contrasts with actions taken regionally or by other smaller groups of countries. (This is different from the word’s use in other areas of international relations where, for example, a “multilateral” security arrangement can be regional.)

युवा पुस्ताका रोजाइ

युवा पुस्ताका रोजाइ

किताब वा फिल्ममध्ये तपाई कुन रोज्नुहुन्छ ? यो प्रश्नमा धेरैजसोले आफ्नो रोजाइ फिल्म भएको बताए । किताब रुचाउनेहरुको जमात पनि कम छैन । फिल्म हेर्नका लागि सिनेमा हल पुग्न कलेज बङ्क हान्नेदेखि अफिसको विदा लिएर सिनेमा हलहरुमा झुम्ने गर्छन् एकथरि तन्नेरी अर्कोतिर किताबलाई छोड्न नसक्नेहरु पनि छन्, जो हलिउडकी हट नायिका एन्जेलिना जोलीको अभिनयको फिल्मी रोमान्सभन्दा पल्पसा क्याफेमा युद्धविभिषिका शिकार बनेकी पल्पसासँग आफूलाई रमाउँछन् ।

हुनत लहडे जमातहरु पढ्दैनन् भन्ने धेरैजसोको आँकलनलाई फेल बनाई दिन्छन् पढ्न्तेहरु । यस्ता युवा तन्नेरीहरु पनि छन् जो किताबको किरो बन्न रुचाउँछन् ।

कोर्सका किताबहरु मात्र पढ्ने क्याम्पसे ठिटाहरु अहिले पुस्तक प्रदर्शनी र सहरका राम्रा र धेरै पुस्तक पाइने पसलहरु खोज्दै हिड्छन् । बजारमा नयाँ पुस्तक आउने बित्तिकै तन्नेरीहरुमा त्यसको अध्ययन पश्चात विचार र विमर्श पनि शुरु हुन्छ । यसले सिर्जनामकमता र बौद्धिकता बढ्नमा पनि मद्दत गरेको छ । किताबलाई किताबकै रुपमा मात्र बेच्ने र पढ्नेभन्दा पनि अहिले किताबलाई जीवनकै एउटा अङ्गका रुपमा हेर्ने युवा जमात बढेको छ । "पुस्तक भनेको संसार हेर्ने र बुझ्ने स-साना आँखा रहेछन् ।" पढन्तेहरुको सामूहिक जवाफ हो यो ।

प्लस टु पढ्दै गरेका शिवानी थापा र नम्रता कार्की किताबको किरो बन्न रुचाउँछन् । कलेज कोर्सका किताबहरु मात्र होइनन्, उनीहरुले अरु थुप्रै किताबहरु पढिसकेका छन् । भर्खरैमात्र "पाउलो कोयल्होको "द अल्केमिस्ट" पढिसकेकी शिवानी अब जगदीश घिमिरेको अन्तर्मनको यात्रा पढ्ने सोचमा छिन । भन्छिन्-"यो त अति नै रोमान्टिक उपन्यास रहेछ ।" नम्रता कार्की खग्रेन्द्र सङ्ग्रौलाको जुनकीरीको सङ्गीत पढिरहेकी छन् । भन्छिन्- "सङ्ग्रौलाले यसमा ग्रामीण नेपाली समाज, पिछडिएको दलित जाति र द्वन्द्व घाउहरु गहकिलो तरिकाले प्रस्तुत गरेका छन् ।"

पारिजातको "शिरिषको फूल", तसलिमाको "लज्जा" र "बिग्रेकी केटी" पढ्ने केटी सर्मिला राई अब नारायण वाग्लेको पल्पसा क्याफे र जोन उडको रुम टु रिड तिर लाग्नेछिन् ।

विशेषगरी "अङ्ग्रेजी साहित्य पढ्ने नेपाली तन्नेरीहरुको भीड छ । अर्नेस्ट हेमिङ्ग्वेको "द ओल्डम्यान एन्ड द सि", इरिक सेगलको "लभ स्टोरी", सम्राट उपाध्यायको "एरेस्टिङ गडइन काठमाडौं" जस्ता पुस्तक पढिसकेका छन् त्रिविका समाजशास्त्रका विधार्थी दिनेश पाठकले । पछिल्लो समयमा रुचाइएकी लेखिका हुन मञ्जुश्री थापा । उनको "टिल्ड अर्थ" पनि अहिलेको निकै रुचाइएको पुस्तक हो ।

यसैगरी जेके रोलिङको "हृयारी पोटर", डिज स्यालिन्जरको "द क्याचर इन दराइज" जस्ता पुस्तकबारे युवापुस्तामा धेरै बहस चल्ने गरेको छ ।

यौनप्रति पनि उदार बन्दै छ यो पुस्ता जसका कारण प्रेम र यौवनको खुल्ला बहस चल्छ उनीहरुमा । जसका कारण यौनजीवन र अनुभूतिमा आधारित एवं विवादित भ्लादिमिर बोबोकोबको नोबेल पुरस्कार प्राप्त उपन्यास "लोलिता" लाई पनि खोजी-खोजी पढ्छन् उनीहरु । भर्खरै लोलिता पढेर सकेका सुजन केसी भन्छन्-"लोलिता पढ्दा पाइने सुन्दरतम आनन्द र सन्तुष्टि त ब्राडपिटले अभिनय गरेका सिनेमामा पनि पाइदैन ।" पर्ल एस बकको "द गुड अर्थ"देखि ओशोका "सम्भोग से समाधितक" पढ्छन् तन्नेरी ।

राजनीतितिर रुचि भएका तन्नेरीहरु बढीजसो माक्र्सवादी र क्रान्तिकारी इतिहासका पुस्तकहरु पढ्छन् । कम्युनिष्ट क्रान्तिको कारुणिकता प्रष्टयाइएको मिखाइल आस्त्रोभास्कीको अग्नीदिक्षा उपन्यास हातमा च्यापिरहेका बेला भेटिएकी कुसुम शाक्य युवापुस्ता राजनीतिकप्रति बेखबर भन्नेहरुका लागि ठुलो बहसको विषय बन्न सक्छिन् । भन्छिन्-"अग्नीदिक्षाको पावेल कर्चागिनको बहादुरीलाई सलोट गर्नैपर्छ । र उनको प्रेमजीवन पनि कम रोचक छैन । मलाई लाग्छ यो सामाजिक सेवाभाव र मनोरञ्जन दृष्टिले यो उपन्यास उत्कृष्ठ नमुना नै हो ।" मिखाइल आफु नै बोल्सेभिक क्रान्तिका भुक्तभोगी हुन । जसका कारण पनि यो उपन्यास वास्तविकतासँग निकै नजिक छ । यसअघि उनले म्याक्सिम गोर्कीको आमा, र अन्य क्रान्तिकारी चिनियाँ उपन्यासहरु रातोतारा र बाल सिपाही च्याङकाज पनि पढिसकेकी छिन् । भन्छिन्-"कुर्सी र सत्ताका लागि मात्र लड्ने नेताहरुका लागि यी ओजस्वी उपन्यासहरु राम्रा पाठशाला बन्न सक्छन् । यी उपन्यासहरुमा वास्तविक किसानहरुको मुक्ति र समाज परिवर्तनको वकालत गरिएको छ । जसमा गरिबहरुको अधिकारको पक्षपोषण गरिएको छ । यसले एउटा राम्रो नेता बन्ने बाटो देखाइदिन्छ । क्रान्तिकारी नेता चेग्वेभाराको जीवनीपनि सबैभन्दा धेरै बिक्री हुने पुस्तकमा पर्छ । चेग्वेभाराको अनुहारलाई त बेल्ट, टिसर्ट, गाडीसम्म टाँस्ने होड चलेको तन्नेरीहरुको ।

किरण देसाईङ्को "द इनहेरिटेन्स् अफ लस", "सम्राट उपाध्यायको "द रोयल गोस्ट", "माइक्रोसफ्टदेखि बाहुनडाँडासम्म" पनि पछिल्लो समयमा निकै रुचाइएका पुस्तकहरु हुन् । यसैगरी नारायण ढकालको प्रेतकल्प पनि रुचाइएको किताब हो । जस उपन्यासमा पूरानो नेपाली समाजलाई सजीव रुपमा उतारिएको छ ।

पढन्तेहरु बढेपछि १० वर्ष अगाडि करीव २ हजार वटा मात्र पुस्तक पाइने बजार अहिले कम्तिमा २० हजारभन्दा बढी पाइन थालेका छन् ।

पुस्तक बजारको स्वरुप पनि फेरिएको छ । रामायण र महाभारतका कथा खोजिने बजारमा अहिले हयारी पोटटरका विभिन्न श्रृखलाहरु, पल्पसा क्याफेदेखि अन्तरर्मनको यात्रा सम्मले भरिएको छ । ननफिक्सन र सामाजिक क्रान्तिका पुस्तकहरु किन्नेहरुको पनि लामो लहड छ । साहित्यक किताबमा बढी तन्नेरीहरु पनि आकषिर्त भएका देखिन्छ । नेपाली बजारमा रुचाइएका पुस्तकहरुमा सबैभन्दा अग्रपंक्तिमा मुनामदन पर्छ । नेपालीभन्दा अङ्ग्रेजी साहित्यका किताबहरुले बजारमा ब्यापकता पाएको छ ।

अर्कोतिर किताब होइन सिनेमाहरुमा घट्टेकुलोका ललित थापाले प्रायजसो हिन्दी र अङ्ग्रेजी मुभीमा दिन बिताउँछन् । भर्खरै प्लस टु सकेका ललित हिन्दी र अङ्ग्रेजीमा पनि कमेडी र लभस्टोरी फिल्मका फ्यान हुन । भन्छन्-"मलाई कमेडी फिल्महरु बढी मनपर्छ । लभस्टोरी भएका फिल्महरु पनि हेर्ने गर्छु ।" फिल्मी गफमा उनले भर्खरै आफुले हेरेको फिल्म लभ आजकलको प्रंशसा गर्न पनि भ्याए । लभ आजकल हामीजस्तै टिनएजरहरुको लागि बनाइएको फिल्म रहेछ उनले भने ।

अङ्ग्रेजी सिनेमा चलाउने एउटामात्र हल कुमारी सिनेमा हलमा टिकट लिनका लागि युवाहरुको तछाड मछाड नै चल्छ । यस्तै हिन्दी सिनेमा हेर्नेहरुको लस्कर पनि लामै हुन्छ । प्रत्येक शुक्रबार नयाँ चलचित्र रिलिज हुँदा टिकटका लागि मारामार नै पर्छ । तर, नेपाली सिनेमामा भने नयाँ पुस्ताले त्यति रुची दिइएको पाइदैन ।

एउटै किसिमको प्रविधि, कथावस्तु, प्रस्तुतीकोशैलीले नेपाली सिनेमाप्रति उनीहरुको रुची नगएको हो । हयारी पोटटर, ब्याटम्यान श्रृखला र ट्रान्सफरमरजस्ता विशाल हलिउडी शैलीका फिल्महरु हेर्ने बानी परिसकेकोहरुका लागि गुणस्तर बृद्धि गर्न नसकेको नेपाली चलचित्र जगतले कुनै खुराक पस्कन सक्दैन । चामत्कारिक, एनिमेटेड, काल्पनिक र भब्यशैलीका फिल्महरु मात्र यसतर्फ आकर्षणका कारण होइनन् । तन्नेरीहरु विषयवस्तुको घुमाइफिराइ र चमकधमकभन्दा विषयवस्तु सुल्झाइएको फिल्म हेर्न चाहन्छन् । जो नेपाली चलचित्रमा पाइदैन । विषयवस्तुको स्पष्ट प्रस्तुतीकरण र स्पष्ट अन्त्य हुनु अङ्ग्रेजी र हिन्दी सिनेमाप्रति युवाहरुको मोहका कारण हुन ।

मनोरञ्जनमा मात्र लिप्त भएको छ एउटा तप्का नै जो किताबमा हयारी पोटटर पढ्दैन । बरु डिभिडी, भिसिडीमा नै हृयारी पोटटरका श्रृखलाहरुमा झुम्मिरहेको हुन्छ । विशेषज्ञहरुका अनुसार यो प्रविधिमा भएको चामत्कारिक परिवर्तनले प्रभाव हो ।

mushroom in nepal

Major types of mushroom grown in Nepal :

The major types of mushroom grown in Nepal are white button mushroom, oyster, straw and shitake mushroom. A brief description about them is given as follows:

White Button Mushroom:

Among edible mushrooms White Button Mushroom is the most popular one in Nepal. This is known as “gobre chau” in nepali language. It is extensively cultivated through out the world. It requires low temperature. This mushroom has pleasant taste and aroma. These are normally grown on compost media. The raw materials are straw of paddy, corn stalk, leaves , wheat straw etc. it requires temperature of 15-18 during harvesting time. In Kathmandu valley and midhills, it can be grown twice in a year, one during poush –magh which gives output in falgun-chaitra and other during shrawn-bhadra gives output in asoj-mangsir. It can also grown in terai but only in winter.

Oyster Mushroom:

This mushroom is also known as Pleurotus in latin and Kanye chyau in Nepal. Its scientific name is Pleurotus Spp. Generally ,straw is used as the substrate for its cultivation. Temperature and relative humidity requirement for it is 20-30 and 80% respectively. In Kathmandu valley it can be cultivated during falgun-kartik. But nowdays due to presence of different species as per the climatic condition it can be grown year round. It can also be grown in the month of chaitra-kartik at 800-1400m attitude areas. It can also be cultivated in terai but in winter ( kartik-magh). Species can be grown in cool climate are Pleurotus floridia, P.ostreatus, and some species can be grown in warm climate are P.flabellatus, P.sapidus. among these ,species used in Nepal are P.ostreatus,P.sajor-caju and P.floridia(manandhar,2005).

Straw mushroom This mushroom can be cultivated both in terai as well as in hill of the country but the higher production will be in the terai due to its higher temperature demanding nature i.e. 38-40c. its scientific name is volvariella volvaceae. The substrate used for it is also straw. It is highly perishable but very delicious and nutritious. Unlike to above two types of mushroom ,it occupies large floor space for its cultivation.

Shitake mushroom.

This mushroom has medicinal value for diabetic patients. Its scientific name is lentinus edodes and it is known as Mrige chyau in nepali language. This is commonly found in hilly forest of the country especially during rainy season. It is grown either by using the saw dust or wood logs. Uttis is mainly used as its substrate. The wood logs more than ten years old can be utilized for its cultivation. Generally weight of mushroom is 150-250 gm.

food security

What is food security?

Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to enough safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy lifestyle. (World Food Summit 1996)

To be food secure means that:

• Food is available - The amount and quality of food available globally, nationally and locally can be affected temporarily or for long periods by many factors including climate, disasters, war, civil unrest, population size and growth, agricultural practices, environment, social status and trade.
• Food is affordable - When there is a shortage of food prices increase and while richer people will likely still be able to feed themselves, poorer people may have difficulty obtaining sufficient safe and nutritious food without assistance.
• Food is utilised - At the household level, sufficient and varied food needs to be prepared safely so that people can grow and develop normally, meet their energy needs and avoid disease.

What happens when people do not have food security?

For the more than 800 million people who do not get enough regular, healthy food, ill health and a shorter life expectancy are real risks. Children, and especially very young children, who suffer from food insecurity will be less developed than children of the same age who have had sufficient food. They will most likely be shorter and weigh less, and be less able physically and intellectually, because of poor nutrition.

Why is there food insecurity?

Poverty

Poor people lack access to sufficient resources to produce or buy quality food. Poor farmers may have very small farms, use less effective farming techniques, and/or be unable to afford fertilisers and labour-saving equipment, all of which limit food production. Often they cannot grow enough food for themselves, let alone generate income by selling excess to others. Without economic resources and a political voice, poor farmers may be forced on to less productive land possibly causing further environmental deterioration. Addressing poverty is critical to ensuring that all people have sufficient food.

Health

Without sufficient calories and nutrients, the body slows down, making it difficult to undertake the work needed to produce food. Without good health, the body is also less able to make use of the food that is available. A hungry mother will give birth to an underweight baby, who then faces a future of stunted growth, frequent illness, learning disabilities and reduced resistance to disease. Contaminated food and water can cause illness, nutrient loss and often death in children.

The HIV/AIDS pandemic has reduced food production in many affected countries as productive adults become ill or die. Lacking the labour, resources and know-how to grow staples and commercial crops, many households have shifted to cultivating survival foods or even leaving their fields, further reducing the food supply. Addressing health issues will improve utilisation and availability of food.

Water and the environment

Food production requires massive amounts of water. It takes one cubic metre (1000 litres) of water to produce one kilogram of wheat and 3,000 litres of water to produce one kilogram of rice. Producing sufficient food is directly related to having sufficient water. Irrigation can ensure an adequate and reliable supply of water which increases yields of most crops by 100% to 400%. Although only 17% of global cropland is irrigated, that 17% produces 40% of the world's food. Increasing irrigation efficiency and limiting environment damage through salinisation or reduced soil fertility are important for ongoing food availability.

Where water is scarce and the environment fragile, achieving food security may depend on what has been called 'virtual water', that is, importing food from countries with an abundance of water. This may be a more efficient use of a scarce resource.

Gender equity

Women play a vital role in providing food and nutrition for their families through their roles as food producers, processors, traders and income earners. Yet women's lower social and economic status limits their access to education, training, land ownership, decision making and credit and consequently their ability to improve their access to and use of food. Food utilisation can be enhanced by improving women's knowledge of nutrition and food safety and the prevention of illnesses. Increasing women's involvement in decision making and their access to land and credit will in turn improve food security as women invest in fertilisers and better seeds, labour-saving tools, irrigation and land care.

Disasters and conflicts

Droughts, floods, cyclones and pests can quickly wipe out large quantities of food as it grows or when it is in storage for later use. Likewise, seeds can be destroyed by such environmental dangers.

Conflict can also reduce or destroy food in production or storage as farmers flee to safety or become involved in the fighting. Previously productive land may be contaminated with explosive debris and need to be cleared before it can again be used for food production. Stored food, seeds and breeding livestock may be eaten or destroyed by soldiers, leading to long-term food shortages. Government spending needs to prioritise food security in the aftermath of conflict.

Population and urbanisation

Population growth increases the demand for food. With most productive land already in use, there is pressure for this land to become more productive. Poor harvests and higher costs lead many poor farmers to migrate to cities to look for work. Expanding cities spread out across productive land, pushing food production further and further away from consumers. This increases the cost of all the activities associated with producing and transporting food, and decreases the food security of the poor in cities.

Trade

Many poor countries can produce staples more cheaply than rich nations but barriers to trade, such as distance from markets, quarantine regulations and tariffs make it difficult for them to compete in export markets against highly subsidised farmers in rich countries. This deprives poor farmers of income and entire countries of the agricultural base they need to develop other sectors of the economy. In addition, trade imbalances prevent poor countries from importing agricultural products that could enhance their food security.

What is being done?

Improving food production

Increasing the amount of food available is necessary to feed the growing population. The Green Revolution of the 1970s and 1980s led to huge increases in output, largely due to the cultivation of high-yielding varieties of rice and wheat, the expansion of land under production and irrigation, greater use of fertilisers and pesticides and greater availability of credit. In many countries these gains have reached their limit, and social and environmental issues must now be addressed. Further increases in food production depend on better integration of traditional knowledge with research; improving farming practices through training and the use of technology to increase outputs from current land without further loss of productive land; land reform to provide secure access to land for more people; and the provision of low-cost finance to help farmers invest in higher quality seeds and fertilisers and small irrigation pumps.

While genetically modified seeds are being hailed as a means of improving crop outputs, there are also concerns about the ownership of seeds, adequate compensation for traditional knowledge and possible side effects.

Economic growth and trade liberalisation

Increasing food production leads to greater availability of food and economic growth in the domestic and/or overseas markets. Generating income can provide access to more and varied foods and provide cash for use in other areas of the economy, such as small enterprise and manufacturing, which in turn helps reduce poverty. Trade liberalisation is opening up markets slowly, but there are costly barriers to overcome. Work is underway through the Doha Round of multilateral trading negotiations in the World Trade Organisation to make trade rules fair, encourage trade liberalisation and assist developing countries to participate in the global trade environment.

Distribution

While there are sufficient resources in the world to provide food security for all, policy and behavioural changes are necessary to guarantee a fair share for all people, especially the poor. Building on a series of global conferences, in particular the 1992 International Conference on Nutrition and the 1996 and 2002 World Food Summits, countries have developed national nutrition plans and policies in nine major strategic action areas that:

• include mainstream nutrition goals in development policies and programmes
• improve household food and nutrition security
• protect consumers through improved food quality and safety
• prevent and manage infectious diseases
• promote breastfeeding
• care for the socioeconomically deprived and nutritionally vulnerable
• prevent and control specific micronutrient deficiencies
• promote appropriate diets and healthy lifestyles
• assess, analyse and monitor nutrition situations.

The progress towards achieving these goals, however, has been much slower than intended.

Recognising the role of women

Gender equality is a prerequisite for the eradication of poverty and hunger. Many programs recognise the need for changes in access to food, land, credit, education, health and nutrition training and decision making in order to make effective use of women's roles in agricultural production and food preparation.

Food aid

The need for food during emergencies such as drought, disaster, population displacement and conflict is addressed by the distribution of basic food supplies and fuel. Early warning systems can predict problem areas, allowing action to be taken to keep people in their homes and help them back to food self-sufficiency as quickly as possible. Food sourced locally rather than internationally minimises the costs and disruption to local markets. In severe situations feeding may be necessary but often food aid is linked with work, health or education to avoid dependency and address the long-term causes of food insecurity.