Susan Bhattarai, Vetiver Nepal Kathmandu Nepal:A kind of grass originally from tropical Asia, vetiver has been brought to the tropics in both hemispheres and has since escaped cultivation to become a weed in some areas. This perennial grass belongs to the Poaceae family, which is also known in Nepal as Khus and Khaskhas. In Ayurvedic writings, it is referred to as “Usheera.”

Vetiver is a big tufted bunchgrass that grows to a maximum height of five feet (1.5 meters). The plant produces tiny brown-purple flowers in long spikes, and its slender leaves and stems are hard and upright. The aromatic roots can delve more than three meters (10 feet) into the ground as they grow downward in the soil. The leaves grow straight and in clusters (culms) from the roots. They are two meters tall. Dried, its fine roots and rhizomes take on a sweet aroma. This grass blossoms and produces fruit around August.

At 200–1,200 meters above sea level, Nepal’s tropical and subtropical regions are home to verder grass. It grows in freezing regions and open meadows. It can be found in Koshi Tappu (Sunsari district) in the east and Nepalgunj (Banke district) in the west. The plant is helpful in dryland restoration to lessen soil erosion and is occasionally cultivated as a hedge. The plant also withstands droughts rather well. Veterinarians and activists who use the plant for a variety of purposes point out that it has many uses. A novel agricultural crop that is essentially a “Grass” but has the ability to significantly advance the country due to its numerous advantages on the social, economic, and environmental fronts.It can benefit people by acting as an unmatched means of reducing poverty and protecting valuable soil and water. It can also be used to recover wastelands, since more than 500,000 hectares of them might be turned into productive farms that would supply the soil and plants with nutrient-rich mulch.

In order to protect agricultural crops like rice, maize, and others from pests like stem borer, carbon must be sequestered, and nitrogen must be injected into the soil through bacteria in order to give cattle feed that is high in protein. Additionally, it is a bioengineering solution that stabilises landfills, leachate, and mines by removing metallic impurities by phytoremediation, protecting against floods from the destructive rivers and landslides in brittle hills.
Vetiver also aids in stabilising the contaminated wastes produced by manufacturing activities and helps clean up polluted rivers from disposed of wastes. Similarly, it is helpful for one of the most important bases for pharmaceuticals to a high-end intermediate for fragrance that commands a high price of about NPR 32,000 kg. This indicates that farmers may grow vetivar, which outperforms other crops like rice, maize, or wheat, for NPR 700,000 to NPR 900,000 per year. Furthermore, vetiver is an excellent choice for our all-encompassing empowerment. Additionally, when compared to monoculture farming, it facilitates the coexistence of other crops, increasing the collective yield.

In addition to adding vegetation to the amount of land in use, multi-layer farming based on the permaculture idea will also increase the amount of land in use. It has the power to significantly alter our socioeconomic and ecological landscape if put into practice with sincerity. When the previously undeveloped wastelands and the abandoned land mass are combined, it can be argued that vetiver can help ensure the nation’s security in the crucial areas of food, energy, climate, sustainable agriculture, disaster mitigation, support for agro-based manufacturing, import substitution and significant revenue from high-value product exports, employment, and affordable access to herbs. One of the species that sequesters the most carbon from both shoots and roots is known to be vetiver. The majority of BioEnergy processes not only replace fossil fuels but also contribute to the production of organic fertiliser as a byproduct.

The country’s present fertiliser needs might be satisfied by the output, and there might even be a sizable surplus for exports. Crucially, the “waste-to-wealth” and “waste-to-energy” phenomena will receive the proper recognition. Similar to how biogas and bio-briquettes derived from vetiver can replace firewood as a residential fuel source, vetiver shoots have an energy value that is nearly 175% that of bagasse and rice husk. Briquettes might so take the role of coal in industrial furnaces. In addition, according to experts, vetiver can help with (a) food security by enabling 4–5 million tonnes of paddy and other foodgrains to grow more than usual each year; (b) employment opportunities by creating 2–2.5 million jobs in the organised sector and utilising all unused lands for multi-layer farming; and (c) energy security by completely replacing fossil fuels (diesel, petrol, LPG, etc.) valued at 2.5–3 trillion rupees with green, renewable fuel made from biomass, either through the Biogas-CNG route or through other Bio-energy measures like bio-ethanol, biomass to electricity, etc.

As a result, the nation will become carbon negative and be able to offset its 8 million tonnes of annual carbon emissions. This will earn the nation considerably more favourable treatment from international development organisations. It may also be included as an additional commodity for the carbon trade.

A non-governmental organisation called Vetiver Nepal has been studying vetiver grass and educating all parties involved about the qualities and advantages of vetiver in Nepal.