ILLAM, JULY 10: Farmers in the eastern part of the district depend on commercial vegetable farming. Although there are occasional problems in selling vegetables, most of the vegetables produced here are sold at high prices.
Farmers of Suryodaya Municipality-11 and 12 and Rong Rural Municipality of the district are engaged in commercial vegetable farming. Farmers are earning hundreds of thousands of rupees a month just by selling the produced vegetables on the Mechi Highway to the passers-by. Farmers are earning a handsome income every year by selling products like prickly pumpkin, cucumber, radish, potato, chillies, tomatoes and japonica.
Farmers do not have to go far to sell their vegetables. "If there is a quality product, farmers do not have to go to distant markets to sell vegetables," says Ramesh Gadtaula, a farmer of Suryodaya Municipality-12. Ramesh also sells vegetables. He takes the vegetables produced here to the Terai market. “At present, vegetables like cucumber, prickly pumpkin and japonica are being sold,” he said, adding that the price of cucumber has come down a bit.
According to him, farmers are now selling cucumbers for at least Rs 20 each. Farmers start producing cucumbers from April. "Initially, the cucumbers produced here can cost up to Rs 100 each," he said, adding that the price comes down when production increases.
Farmers attracted towards commercial cashew farming
Most of the youth in Malim village of this ward depend on vegetable farming. The number of youths going for foreign employment in this village is few. Apart from vegetables, tea farming, animal husbandry and grain farming are the main sources of income for the farmers here, but as the economic condition has improved with the income from vegetables, grain farming has been gradually declining.
There are many farmers who earn hundreds of thousands of rupees annually from vegetable farming on their own. Seeing their hard work in agriculture, government and non-government bodies have also helped them. Farmers have a saying, “A farmer should be honest and hardworking, the financial investment for farming will be managed." Madan Rai of Aathghare is an example that these words and experiences are factual. Madan Rai, who planted vegetables including tomatoes on a small plot of land two decades ago, has now become an exemplary farmer not only in the village but also in the district. When air, water and soil were sufficient, he earned good income from it. He decided to cultivate only vegetables by destroying other crops. Initially, he leased land to plant vegetables.
Now he is not only known in the district for his vegetable farming, but has also been awarded many times as the 'Best Vegetable Farmer'.
Dipesh Rai, Binod Gadtaula, Man Bahadur Rai, Birkh Rai, Mitra Rai and others of the same village have been earning good income from vegetable farming. Farmers have planted cabbage, cauliflower, tomatoes, chillies and other crops. Even young people with postgraduate education are attracted to vegetable farming in the village rather than to other forms of employment and trade. Mitra Rai, a local who has graduated, and Deepesh Rai, who had opened a photo studio in Jhapa for some time, also returned to the village and started vegetable farming. Even Ram Rai, who returned from foreign employment, did not go abroad again because of the vegetable farming he started in the village.
The farmers here are also exemplary in animal husbandry. Farmers from far away come here to search for improved breeds of cows in the district.
According to a local, Pushpa Adhikari, a single cow calf is sold for up to Rs 150,000. "Good breeds of cows are found in this village," he said. "I also raise cows that give up to 20 liters of milk a day and are expensive.”
There are farmers in the district who sell vegetables worth up to Rs 1.2-1.5 million annually. Farmers of Ilam and Deumai municipalities and Maijogmai and Sandakpur villages have produced vegetables such as mustard, potato, non-seasonal cucumber, bean, radish, coriander, onion and garlic in this season. Many of them are selling vegetables from their houses.
The vegetables from here reach the markets of Charali and Birtamod in Jhapa. Vegetables produced in the Pashupatinagar area of Suryodaya were also being sold in the Indian market. Local traders transport the vegetables collected from the farmers to the nearby markets.
Farmers in the district are cultivating vegetables commercially by forming groups and individually. According to the Agriculture Knowledge Center, 350 farmer groups have been formed in the district for vegetable cultivation and 250 for non-seasonal vegetable farming. According to the Center, 25 farmer groups have been formed in the district for potato cultivation alone.
Farmers are producing especially non-seasonal vegetables. "If the government helps in vegetable production and marketing, many farmers in the district will not have to do other work for employment," says farmer Madan Rai, "The government needs to encourage farmers."
