How a few YouTubers are making farming easy From tutorials of harvesting money and meals plants to movies of getting ready meals for cattle, a few Nepali farmers and agricultural professionals are the use of social media to disseminate statistics associated with farming and agriculture.
For nearly 12 months now, Aashish Lamichhane has been identically spending his days. Although his educating job continues him busy enough, he takes time out from his tight agenda touring close-by farms, assisting farmers, and answering their telephone queries. But what maintains him the busiest is making movies for his YouTube channel, the place he educates his viewers about strategies and offers them records associated with farming and agriculture. “My intention of beginning an agriculturebased YouTube channel was once to share my information so these farmers who want records can get help,” says Lamichhane. Born in a household of farmers, Lamichhane's household had farms in Kewalpur, Rupandehi, the place they would develop sorts of fruits and veggies as properly as rear distinctive animals. And due to the fact of this, he was once outfitted with understanding associated with farming and agriculture. However, he noticed a dearth of data and understanding about farming and agriculture, in particular amongst the human beings dwelling in cities. He realized they had a little notion about how the meals they devour are cultivated in farms, he says. “The metropolis people, mainly the children, lacked expertise concerning agriculture and farming. That’s why I determined to take things into my very own fingers and teach my college students about the fundamentals of farming thru videos,” says Lamichhane, who’s additionally a teacher, educating predominant degree students. Initially, he made a video in the English language for his college students the place he had defined the complete method of mushroom farming. However, he then switched to Nepali, and uploaded the video on YouTube, which obtained grasp from farmers, says Lamichhane. “In the beginning, my intentions had been simple: to make movies for my students, so that they can study something about farming and agriculture. However, when farmers began appreciating the facts I was once disseminating via my videos, I used to be stimulated to make more,” says Lamichhane. Screengrab with the aid of YouTube Then onwards, he in many instances started out importing such sorts of movies on his YouTube channel, the place he would provide an explanation for how one can begin harvesting a variety of plants like mushrooms, lemon, avocados, and bananas, the use of the minimal on-hand resources, as nicely as how one can deal with their unwell cattle. Now, after greater than a year, Lamichhane has extra than 140k subscribers and thirteen million views on his videos. The use of YouTube systems with a rationale of instructing and disseminating statistics and knowledge, however, isn’t novel or unique. For years, many authorities have been the use of YouTube thru which they share their understanding and expertise. However, with science and the web getting low cost and approachable, there has been an explosive increase in content material creators on YouTube. Now it is not solely human beings from city areas who create content material on YouTube—many content material creators are coming up from all backgrounds, from all over the world, who are usage the platform to educate their peers. Among such humans in Nepal is Rabin Paudel, a YouTuber and farmer from Syangja, whose the usage of his channel to
assist and instruct different farmers. He commenced his YouTube profession in 2018. “Previously, I had a technical channel, the place I would train and instruct humans about a range of digital gadgets,” says Paudel. However, he discontinued it when he went to Israel for employment. “When I was once in Israel, I did make a few vlogs about how humans have been doing farming there and what Nepali farmers can analyze from them,” says Paudel, 27. After returning to Nepal and placing up his personal farm, Paudel determined to resume making movies associated with farming. His first video used to be on tomato farming, which was once preferred by using farmers, finally encouraging him to make extra videos, says Paudel. When I shared the identical data and information face to face, now not absolutely everyone confirmed the identical interest. However, when I began the use of the medium of YouTube and different online platforms, greater human beings had been curious to examine farming and agriculture as the statistics I used to be sharing used to be useful to people, mainly to these farmers who had been looking out for data and knowledge," says Paudel, who has 10k subscribers on his YouTube channel. However, for YouTubers who make agricultural and farmingbased content, there are many challenges they have to undergo to create their content, they say. In latest times, Nepal has considered a big increase in customers on YouTube, and whilst this is a desirable sign, the mushrooming of heaps of YouTube channels has made opposition tough. Likewise, agriculturebased contents are itself centered for an area of interest audience, due to which no longer all of their movies get the equal quantity of views, they say. “There have been instances when our movies have been getting sufficient views. In such moments we did have ideas of discontinuing our work, as we believed that very few humans are looking at our videos" says Sandip Timilisina, one of the founders of Agri Nepal Update, an agrobased YouTube channel. More than a yr ago, Timilsina, alongside his university friends, who have been reading agriculture, determined to begin a YouTube channel the place they would share data and information related to farming and agriculture. “We all have been analyzing agriculture. So our intention at the back of beginning a YouTube channel was once to make movies that may want to impart pertinent statistics to farmers, who have been in want of knowledge, as nicely as advantage us using giving a platform via which we may want to impart pertinent statistics to farmers, who have been in want of knowledge, as nicely as advantage us by means of giving a platform via which we may want to research as well,” says Timilsina, who’s presently analyzing his Masters in agriculture. Along with his friends, thru their phones, they commenced making tutorial movies the place they would educate human beings about how one may want to develop plants like banana, turmeric, and mushrooms. However, it was once their video on tomato harvesting that acquired hundreds of views immediately and that made them recognize that there is an target market who prefers to watch the form of movies they have been producing. “Now we are developing content material focused on the target audience base of farmers who are looking out for the type facts we disseminate,” says Timilsina. “That’s why most of our contemporary movies are based totally on seasonal vegetables, whose facts the farmers are probable looking for.” Similarly, to attraction to a large audience, the YouTubers additionally pay interest to the fashion and the language they use in their videos, they say. “In the existing content, no longer each and every farmer is exceptionally educated. Due to this if we begin speakme in a complicated and technical language, the goal of supporting them out will be missed," says Lamichhane. "That’s why I usually focal point on making movies that are in the easy and tender language, so the farmers can without difficulty hold close and have in mind the information. Similarly, I additionally attempt to include the neighborhood languages spoken in Tarai, Pahad and Himal, explaining the terms, so greater humans can recognize it,” he adds
According to YouTubers, whilst the stress of getting extra publicity does exist, they additionally have a real target audience base, whose consistent assist and guidelines assist them to develop as content material creators, they say. “My channel does have a proper and loyal target audience who continuously supply their suggestions. Likewise, I additionally observe their guidelines as I in the main create movies on subjects they refer to,” says Paudel. Regardless of the struggles, they are facing, YouTube has opened home windows of probability for the YouTubers. htBy monetising his videos, Lamichhane has been in a position to purchase a DSLR camera, which he now makes use of to make his videos. Meanwhile, Paudel is additionally making an attempt to graph on line guides for farmers, as YouTube has proven him the probabilities of tapping into the market of catering agrobased facts to farmers, he says. Similarly, Timilsina additionally has plans on persevering with to make movies that are focused to farmers, he says. However, for YouTubers, their mission isn’t solely pushed by way of the truth that their movies are benefitting them socially and financially, they say. It’s equally including price in the lives of their audience, the farmers, YouTubers believe. “I get hold of smartphone calls from human beings all over the country, asking for help. Some have even shared that they have set up small homebased businesses, after staring at my videos,” says Lamichhane. “When I come to understand about the cost my movies and I are including to people's lives, it makes me immensely completely happy and encourages me to create extra beneficial contents in future.”