KHOTANG, April 17: At a time when thousands of people from the rural areas are opting for foreign employment due to the lack of job opportunities in the country, Durga Basnet of Majuwaghadi Municipality-4 in Khotang district has set a different example through her success in vegetable farming.
While her husband works in Qatar and sends home some remittance, Durga used some of the money to invest in seasonal and off-seasonal vegetable farming. Through that alone, she earns around Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 per month from the vegetable production in five ropanis of land.
Agro-training transferring lives of rural women
Durga grows spinach, onion, garlic, cabbage and other vegetables. She said that her vegetables are sold in Diktel, the district headquarters.
“During the early days of farming, all the yields were spent on household consumption. I then increased the investment in the farming by renting my neighbor's land for Rs 7,000 per year,” she shared. “The investment has paid off as I make a decent income from vegetable farming. This has also helped me expand animal husbandry and poultry farming.”
Nanda Devi Basnet, another local, has her husband working in Malaysia. She spent Rs 6,000 from the money sent by her husband to buy seeds of various vegetables. At first, her main intention of vegetable farming was just to sustain her family. However, she decided to invest more money in the farming and make it commercial. Since then, she has never looked back.
“I earn about Rs 20,000 per month by selling vegetables. The success has encouraged me to invest in the farming further. As the price of vegetables in the market is good, this has encouraged me further,” added Nanda Devi.
Likewise, Deepa Acharya of Majhuwagadhi Municipality-1 is also making a handsome income from vegetable farming. Her husband recently returned from Saudi Arabia and the couple is working full time on vegetable farming.
