D. Bhandari and B. Bista (2019) Int. J. Appl. Sci. Biotechnol. Vol 7(2): 167-173 DOI: 10.3126/ijasbt.v7i2.24647 Mini Review Permaculture: A Key Driver for Sustainable Agriculture in Nepal Devashish Bhandari1*, Bishal Bista1 1Agriculture and Forestry University, Rampur, Chitwan, Nepal Abstract Our study primarily focused on permaculture for sustained agriculture. Permaculture can be a best alternative for modern industrial and commercial based agriculture which has given a good yield at present but, it is deteriorating soil quality and other environmental aspects. More ever it can lead to a global threat in the future due to overuse and somewhere due to unutilized resources which may give rise to the food and economic insecurity. By compiling the different literatures, we reviewed that permaculture enriches soil quality by increasing organic matter in soil thus increasing water retention capacity, infiltration, nutrient availability, microbial activities and decreasing the erosion. Thus, it increases physical, chemical and biological properties of soil. It provides food and economic safety by providing diverse crops, increasing yield and income of farm and providing least cost inputs with increasing output. It is an efficient in terms of resource use as it utilizes renewable resources and makes connections like a web among resources. This review can be useful information for students, research topic for permaculturists for making it smoother and other environmental enthusiast. Keywords: Permaculture; Sustained agriculture; Soil organic matter; diverse crop; Web among resources Introduction industrial products such as fertilizer, pesticide, herbicide, Permaculture was developed in the early 1970 by two insecticide (Gever et al., 1991; Holmgren, 2002). The four Aussies ecologists Bill Mollison and David Holmgren. It is assumptions on which permaculture is based are (1) The used alternatively with agroforestry but we are not familiar environmental crisis is real and if its magnitude increases it more with term permaculture although it is practiced from will threaten the existence of a society (2) Humans are long ago (Tomczak, 2007). The term permaculture has itself subjected to some natural laws that teach them to govern the 3 words permanent, agriculture and culture (Tomczak, universe (3) The industrial era and population explosion can 2007). It is bounded with the principle that a stable, be attributed to exploitation of cheap abundant fossil fuels sustainable culture is possible only if we integrate it with a (4) The energy resources are scarce but human has system of sustainable agriculture (Holmgren, 2002; unlimited desires so resources will be depleted and human Whitefield, 2004). It is principally focused on developing society will return to preindustrial era (Holmgren, 2002). In the strong relation between community and agriculture with permaculture humans and nature cannot be isolated from secured status of food and economy for long term each other as they are closely linked therefore caring the agriculture. Permaculture system seeks for ameliorating the earth means fulfilling the objectives of people (Holmgren, danger and destructiveness resulted by modern agro 2002; Mollison et al., 1991). Permaculture is a philosophy, Cite this article as: D. Bhandari and B. Bista (2019) Int. J. Appl. Sci. Biotechnol. Vol 7(2): 167-173. DOI: 10.3126/ijasbt.v7i2.24647 *Corresponding author Devashish Bhandari, Agriculture and Forestry University, Rampur, Chitwan, Nepal Email: [email protected] Peer reviewed under authority of IJASBT © 2019 International Journal of Applied Sciences and Biotechnology This is an open access article & it is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) This paper can be downloaded online at http://ijasbt.org&http://nepjol.info/index.php/IJASBT D. Bhandari and B. Bista (2019) Int. J. Appl. Sci. Biotechnol. Vol 7(2): 167-173 a sustainable practice and an act based on ethics of 1. care engaged in agriculture and agriculture constitutes about 33 for earth 2. care for people 3. setting limits to consumption % of GDP (MoAD, 2017).It is reported that Soil organic (Tomczak, 2007). Principles on which permaculture is carbon has been depleted due to long term nutrient based as described by Holmgren (2002) are listed below: exhaustive farming system and transformation of existing natural ecosystem to cropping and grazing lands 1. Observing and interacting: Beauty is in the eye of (MahendraDev, 2012) .It is revealed that most agricultural beholder. soils have lost 30 to 40 MT of carbon per hectare and their 2. Catching and storing energy: Make hay while the current reserves of soil organic carbon are much lower than sun shines their potential capacity (Lal, 2009). Most of the researchers 3. Obtaining a yield: you can’t work on empty believed that urea based fertilizer leads to more nitrous stomach. oxide gas emissions than ammonium or nitrate fertilizers. 4. Applying self-regulation and accepting feedback: But from the recent research it is reported that both Sins of feathers are visited on the children onto 7th environmental factors such as soil conditions and climate generation and management factors such as tillage operations and 5. Using and valuing renewable energy sources: Let cropping culture play a key role in nitrogen loss from field nature takes it course as nitrous oxide (Flynn, 2009). It is reported that land 6. Producing no waste: Waste not, want not. degradation and soil erosion in South Asia are mainly due 7. Designing from patterns to details: Can’t see the to unscientific land use practices, rapid rate of deforestation, wood for the trees poor irrigation and drainage, inadequate soil conservation, 8. Integrating rather than segregating: Many hands steep slopes and overgrazing (Vasudeva, 2002). Shifting make light work cultivation for farming has also resulted in impacts on 9. Using small and slow solutions: Slow and steady environment. It is shown that recent trend for keeping wins the race fallow for short period has also resulted in declined soil 10. Using and valuing diversity: Don’t put all your fertility, decreased crop yield and threatened food security eggs in one basket (Grogan,2012). It is reported that high land fragmentation 11. Using edges and valuing the marginal: Don’t think and accelerated rate of conversion of agricultural land as a you are on right path just because it is easily result of urbanization are two main threats for food security travelled in Nepal (Paudel, 2014). Agricultural technologies also 12. Creativeness for using and responding to change: attribute for environmental degradation. Vision is not seeing things as they are but as they will be. Soil nutrient loss has become a serious issue in Nepalese agriculture. Pesticide related health problems are common “Permaculture is the conscious design and maintenance of in developing countries reaching to extremity and it is agriculturally productive ecosystem that is characterized by affected by various factors like poverty, illiteracy, lack of sustainable, diversified, stable and resiliency with health facilities or ignorance (Devi, 2009). Many problems integration of all components of ecosystem so that various such as food insecurity, poverty and demographic dynamics objectives of a community are fulfilled in a sustainable are caused by environmental degradation due to lowered way” (Mollison et al., 1991). The primarily understood and agricultural productivity (Acharya and Kafle, 2009). applied designed tools in permaculture are zone and sector Pesticides residues are also causing environmental analysis (Hemenway, 2000; Holmgren, 2002; Mollison et degradation. The impact of pesticides on agricultural goods al., 1991; Whitefield, 2004). There are 6 zones in vary according to the type of pesticides used but, it was permaculture and the components of each is applied at revealed that all pesticide residue caused nutrient imbalance different scales, both physically and conceptually. For and decreased quality of agricultural produce (Prescott, example on a household scale, zone 0 would be at inside 2002). Unsafe pesticide application has caused harm to the home, zone 1 intensively managed gardens and landscape health of applicator along with the health of other farm just outside the home, zone 2 less intensively managed residents (Nicole, 2003).It is reported that long-term orchards, zone 3 field crops, zone 4very low management exposure to pesticides causes asthma (Hoppin et al., 2002) grazing and zone 5 the wilderness (Whitefield, 2004). ,sterility (Tuc et al., 2007). Scholars believed that pesticide Rationale of Study catalysed the development of cancer and pesticide After the Green Revolution period, with increased crop poisoning was more significant in developing countries as yield due to high use of modern agro inputs, the Asian compared to developed countries (Hou, 2010). All these agriculture has also suffered from many problems like problems are encountered mostly as well in Nepalese sustainability, stagnant yield, water logging, soil erosion, agriculture due to our unscientific farming practices but, we fluctuation in prices and severe natural calamities have ample resources which can build a good permaculture (MahendraDev, 2012). In Nepal about 65.6% people are design and rectify these problems of Nepalese agriculture. This review article is written from review of different This paper can be downloaded online at http://ijasbt.org&http://nepjol.info/index.php/IJASBT