It is around end of the spring season. Seed-growing farmers in Kholagaun look very busy with their daily chores of harvesting and threshing their cash crops – onion, radish, and peas – in the field. Parbati Jaisi, 26, a woman from this village, was even smarter this year, as she was able to thresh her onion and radish crops a few days earlier, and sell those for NRS 45,000 (nearly AUD 600), which is four times more than last year’s sale.

Parbati has attended several technical trainings on vegetable seed farming provided by the Vegetable Seed Promotion Programme, implemented by Subtropical Vegetable Seed Promotion Centre (SVSPC) in partnership with UMN. She is an enthusiastic member of the monitoring team that keeps track of the farmers’ seed farms for quality control.

Her husband works in India, and earns around NRS 40,000 (AUD 530) per annum. She says excitedly, “This year, I have earned more than my husband did!”  

Parbati had a very hard time to provide for her family of five members with her husband’s uncertain income. This year, the income has improved substantially. She says, “Earning is good – that means better support for the children’s education and savings for the future.”