Mero Agro Pvt. Ltd. recently concluded training and interaction workshop regarding proper application of crop protection inputs (CPI) in the districts of Surkhet and Dailekh. The workshops were conducted at cooperative level and local farmer’s group.

The two-week long programme spanned across the regions of Latikoili, Satakhani, Lekhbesi, Mehelkuna and Kalyan in Surkhet and Narayan Municipality, Mathilo Dungeswor & Tallo Dungeswor in Dailekh.

Firstly, we organised an interactive workshop session regarding crop protection input management. It was followed by a brief visit to the participant farmers’ agricultural farm and field where we discovered a number of fungal and bacterial diseases as well as haphazard cultivation practices.

A number of diseases like northern leaf blight, southern leaf blight, damping off, leaf blast, tomato mosaic virus were evident primarily in the maize, tomato and paddy field.

We realized that the region first and foremost requires comprehensive training regarding basic crop cultivation practices right from selection of seeds, land preparation to crop establishment, water management, nutrient management and disease & pest management. The DADOs and local agro-vets can play a pivotal role as an extension service providers in disseminating the right information about identification of disease type and application of appropriate treatment solutions.