Rolpa. About ten years ago, Nanda Bahadur Gharti of Sunchhahari Rural Municipality-4, Syuri Ghogha, worked in various apple orchards in India. Inspired by the experience he gained there, he decided to start apple farming in his own village.
With the aim of utilizing the knowledge he gained in India, he started apple farming on his land. Now, he is very excited as his efforts have started bearing fruit. After planting some saplings brought from India, the trees started producing apples within a few years, which inspired him to expand his orchard commercially
According to him, he currently has about a hundred apple trees on his land. Some have started producing fruit while others are maturing. Since his farm is located near Sulichaur Bazaar, the commercial hub of eastern Rolpa, customers often come directly to his orchard to buy apples.
Although the climate in various parts of Rolpa is suitable for apple farming, lack of technical knowledge and modern farming techniques has limited the commercialization of apple farming in the district.
Farmers in Rolpa are now turning the experience they gained from working in apple orchards in different parts of the country and India into a source of income. Nanda Bahadur in particular has successfully grown apples without any formal testing or technical assistance.
Nanda Bahadur is now happy that the apple trees he planted a few years ago have started bearing fruit. He says his hard work has paid off as the trees, which he has nurtured and cared for for a long time, have started producing apples in abundance. “It has been four to five years since they started bearing fruit; they started producing only two to three years after planting,” he says. “They need regular care and maintenance. I have only used organic fertilizers and have not used any chemical pesticides.”
Due to the lack of irrigation, he faces the challenge of watering the trees by hand during the dry season. However, after the apples started yielding within a few years and the income has become encouraging, he has continued to expand the orchard. He notes that other parts of his land are gradually being converted into apple farms. Currently, more than 60 trees are producing well, and customers describe the apples as tasty and high-quality.
Last season, he earned between Rs 40,000 and 50,000 and this year, he expects to earn more as production has increased. He claims that market access is not a big problem. “There is not much problem in selling,” he said. “Customers come directly to the orchard to buy. We also get orders.” Seeing the potential for good production, he plans to expand further. He sells apples for Rs 500 per kilogram.
The number of apple farmers in the district is currently increasing. Farmers from different parts of Thabang, Gangadev and Sunchahari rural municipalities have started expanding commercial apple farming.
The government needs to come up with a program to encourage youth to join the agricultural sector to reduce the daily migration of thousands of people due to lack of employment in the country.
Farmers will benefit greatly if agriculture can be linked to modern technology and technical assistance. Productivity is limited as most farmers still use traditional methods.
