Panchakanya Agriculture Cooperative Limited

“The commitment is impressive,” says Bhimendra Katwal, an agricultural development expert in Nepal, as he tries to explain the success of the Panchakanya Agriculture Cooperative. “They don’t want to go back to using pesticides. They want to continue, so others can see and follow.”

Over the past decade, the residents of Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, have been consuming more vegetables and grains, so most farmers in the region decided to increase yields by intensifying their use of fertilizers and pesticides. One farmer in his 30’s, Uddav Adhikari, insisted on a different path—organic production. He convinced his neighbors to do likewise. Uddav’s Village Development Committee (VDC) and four surrounding VDCs then created the Panchakanya Agriculture Cooperative Ltd., specializing in organic methods. But thanks to the leadership of Uddav’s wife, Nirmala, the co-op moved in a direction never seen before in Nepal—its members and leaders were predominantly women. Nirmala is now the cooperative’s chair.

Today, hundreds of women farmers are clamoring to join. Word of Panchakanya’s success has spread and copycat cooperatives are sprouting up across the region. Nirmala, a member of the District Chapter of the Nepal Women’s Organization and a participant in the organization’s annual convention, has helped to energize village women to actively participate in development activities. Yet despite its success and local fame, Panchakanya is still a young and evolving enterprise, and struggling with issues of scale and crop consistency.