Nepal: Myagdi farmers turn to orange farming
“Till now we had considered oranges as a household consumable product. We decided to start commercial orange farming after buyers started visiting locals farms asking for oranges,” Krishna Gurung of Baskuna in Beni Municipality said.
Local farmers have planted around 6,000 orange saplings this year. They have received necessary training and technical assistance from District Agriculture Development Office (DADO).
According to Gurung, a few families in the village started orange farming about seven years ago. “Along with fruits, local farmers are also into livestock farming,” he added.
Lalbahadur KC, who is involved in commercial kiwi farming in New Zealand, has established a company together with local farmers for better management of orange orchards. The company also works to find market for local produce.
“We are moving forward with both individual and group investments,” KC said, adding, “We want to export local oranges to international markets someday.”
Last year, local farmers earned Rs 1.5 million by selling oranges. This year they expect to double earning to Rs 3 million.
KC, who is based in New Zealand, said he would visit Nepal three times a year to impact training on farming to local farmers and to bring modern technology.
Orange farming is done in over 800 ropanis in Baskuna. Bastana Kumar Shrestha, senior agricultural development office at Myagdi DADO, said they were expanding orange farming by declaring 15 VDCs as pocket area.
Shrestha estimates that farmers in the district will earn Rs 60 million by selling oranges this year.
Source: myrepublica.com
