Joint action against killer weed a must
It was a day in Falgun 2079 when goats returned to Acharya Agriculture Farm after grazing from the nearby jungle (Sundarnicha Jhoda community forest) at about 4 pm. After a couple of hours, they began showing symptoms such as loss of regurgitation, which was soon accompanied with swelling of the stomach.
They then started to bleat and it seemed they were going through immense pain. After struggling for a few hours, goats on the animal farm belonging to Sushila Acharya and her family began dying one after another from 8 pm the same night. After a few hours of their death, a greenish frothy bloat was observed around their mouth.
Within 24 hours, the farm lost 28 goats, including kids, wethers and she-goats. They did whatever was needed to protect the animals, heeding advice from other neighbors and local veterinarians. Dumbfounded as well as perplexed by the sudden and mysterious deaths, they took their dead livestock for post-mortems, which revealed that poisoning was the the cause of death. To be precise, the livestock had died after consuming “ultakande”, which is quite similar to commonly found “Lajjawati Jhar” (touch me not).
This revelation shocked the Acharyas and their neighbors, who had previously lost their livestock due to unknown causes, only to find later that the weed was the culprit. This realization prompted them to take a difficult decision to avoid grazing their goats freely in the forest. When unavoidable, they now securely peg their animals to prevent access to the weed. Despite several efforts to protect their livestock, local people have lost more than 50 of them till now, most of them due to the consumption of the weed at its young stage, says the owner of the farm, Prem Prasad Acharya.
This is one of the tragic events that occurred in the small village of Garamani, approximately 16 km from Chandragadhi Airport in Jhapa. Sushila Acharya and her family have been struck by this devastating financial loss. The once-thriving livestock farm, which sustained them for years, has suffered significant economic losses due to an unexpected menace—Mimosa diplotricha, an invasive plant species—that came to the notice of the Acharyas and their neighbors approximately a decade ago. Initially, the weed seemed harmless and the locals were least bothered. However, its impact has now unfolded, leaving them to deal with its negative consequences.
Mimosa diplotricha is one of the invasive species, reported from Nepal in the year 2019 by Forest Action researchers along with invasive species expert Dr Bharat Babu Shrestha. Commonly known as “Aarakande”, “Ultakaanda” or “Lahare Lajjawati”, it is a leguminous thorny subshrub of neotropical origin that now has been invasive in more than 45 countries, including Nepal. Known to cause several negative impacts on agriculture, livestock, biodiversity and livelihoods in its introduced range, this species has been reported abundantly in Jhapa and Morang districts of south-eastern Nepal.
For a family entirely dependent on the livestock farm, the loss of 28 goats in a single day had a significant impact on their income and sustainability. Since the economic effects have been quite severe, the Acharyas had to reconsider their farming methods and look for new strategies to protect their animals. Like the Acharyas, several other families from Jhapa and Morang districts have suffered the consequences of this weed, either knowingly or unknowingly, most of which are not reported. Local people, unaware as to how this species got introduced in this region, say it has been thriving in this area for about 30 years and has begun spreading in the vicinity as well through various means.
Lending credence to the locals’ account, a research team from Forest Action Nepal has reported the presence of the weed in Sunsari district as well.
According to Lila Nath Sharma, a researcher at Forest Action Nepal, the weed introduced in Nepal in the mid-1990s has been spreading rapidly. Despite the Acharyas’ initiative to report the issue to the municipality, their plea for financial assistance has gone unheard. This disappointing response emphasizes the critical need for support mechanisms to aid farmers grappling with the devastating impact of the invasive plant.
Experts warn that if immediate action is not taken, the future impact of Mimosa diplotricha could be catastrophic. As the plant continues to thrive, more livelihoods will be at risk, further jeopardizing the rural economy.
The Acharya family’s experience serves as a wake-up call for both farmers as well as policymakers. The implications go far beyond individual families, encompassing entire communities reliant on agriculture and livestock for sustenance. The battle against this destructive weed requires comprehensive awareness campaigns, agricultural guidance and collaboration between farmers as well as local authorities. Together with agricultural experts and community leaders, the local government must launch comprehensive awareness campaigns and allocate resources to mitigate the crisis.
