Vyas growing vegetables by leasing land

By Our Correspondent, Baitadi, Dec.1: The Agricultural Development Division of the Vyas Rural Municipality in Darchula district, the western-most part of Nepal, has established an agricultural firm by leasing land. 

According to the annual programme of the current Fiscal Year 2022/23 of the Division, an agricultural firm has been established in Sunsera of Vyas-4 by leasing five ropanis of land. 

Head of the Division, Bishweshwar Prasad Badu, said that the rural municipality started vegetable cultivation by renting the land of a local, Parvati Kunwar. A meeting of the local body held on 7 September 2022 has allocated a budget of Rs. 2 million for the establishment of the agricultural firm. 

Mangal Singh Dhami, chairman of Vyas, informed that the firm has been established with the investment from the rural municipality with the aim of connecting the unemployed youth who have studied agriculture with enterprises and teaching them new technologies. 

Badu said that preparations are being made to run an agricultural firm by recruiting 10 agricultural JTAs and 10 volunteers immediately and advertisements would be published soon for the same. 

With the help of the locals, the work of sowing vegetables is being done  after land preparation, irrigation and plastic mulching. At present, the firm is planting green vegetables such as cabbage, cauliflower, onion, radish, spinach and mustard green.

According to the municipality, there is a plan to sell the vegetables produced in the agricultural firm to the local market and to the schools that are running the midday meal programme. 

Likewise, the local body plans to operate an agricultural firm in 25 ropanis of land which will be developed as a model programme in the area. 

It is expected to encourage local people towards vegetable farming and connect the unemployed youth with enterprises.