Farmers making good income from litchi farming

BY AMAR RAJ NAHARKI,Palungtar, June 29: Tara Nath Upreti of Palungtar Municipality-7 in Gorkha has set an example that one can earn good money in the country and don’t need to go abroad for employment. He earns more than Rs. 350,000 every year by selling litchi.

Upreti made Rs. 300,000 last year, but this year, he has managed to grow his profit to Rs. 350,000. He attributed the higher profit this year to litchi being big in size and in good condition. He sold litchi grown in 105 trees planted on 15 ropanis of land. The profit from litchi farming was more compared to paddy and maize farming, he added. 

Upreti said, “If paddy were planted in the field, it would have profited me only Rs. 30,000. I have gained 10 times more profit from litchi farming.” He informed that he had started litchi farming in extra 15 ropanis of land in the name of his daughter this year planting 60 saplings.  

According to Upreti, the land in the village should not be left barren as litchi farming could be a source of good income. He even said that youths should not go abroad and suggested for the fruits and vegetables cultivation according to the nature of the soil in the village and animal husbandry.

He said that the farmers lack technical knowledge on litchi farming although it was being done commercially in wards 6, 7 and 8 of Palungtar Municipality. If government provided a technical team, the farmers would not need to go through middle man and would be able to keep all the profit to themselves, he added. 

Upreti used to teach at Akala Secondary School in the village. After his retirement, he started litchi cultivation.  He pointed on the need for the industry to process litchi and make juice from broken litchi and said that the local government should pay special attention. 

He informed that there was no difficulty in selling litchi since the wholesalers themselves came to the field to pick the litchi. Upreti this year sold litchi to five wholesalers. The litchi from here is sold to the markets in Kathmandu, Pokhara, Dumre, Abukhaireni and other places. Though farmers sell it at Rs. 65 per kg, the fruit is being sold at Rs. 250 per kg in the market.

Rabindra Kandel, a local, said that Upreti had become a model farmer in the village. Getting inspired from Upreti, many other villagers had started cultivating litchi switching from traditional farming, he added. Kandel too had cultivated litchi in 10 ropanis of barren land. 

A block system consisting of 3,000 to 3,500 ropanis of land has been introduced in wards 6, 7 and 8 of the municipality.  A Joint Litchi Block Operation Coordination Committee has been formed for the operation of the blocks. There are about 200 farmers cultivating more than 20 litchi tress in the committee. Litchi worth Rs. 10 to 12 million is being sold from the block area every year, informed Kandel.