As apples ripen, Humla farmers worry for market

By Rajan Rawat, Humla, Sept.20: The farmers of the Himalayan district Humla are worried about not being able to sell apples that are ripening all over.  The apple production in the district is in tons, however, due to a lack of road connectivity in upper Humla, apples do not reach the market easily.

Shanti Lama from Simkot Rural Municipality-5 said, "Although I have succeeded in growing 50 apple trees, I am worried about selling them." Apples are ripped but there is a problem with taking them to the market. 50 quintal apples were produced on the apple farm.

Saying that there is a limited sale in Simkot Bazaar, she said, "Sale of the remaining apples can be a problem."

Jay Chandra Rokaya, who has been growing apples in 70 trees, from Simkot Rural Municipalit-6, shared his displeasure about it. Saying that there is a good growth of apples, but, selling them can be a problem.

He said, "There is a worry when there is less growth of apples, but, when there is a good growth of apples, then there is an issue of taking them to market. This is because Upper Humla Road is not connected to the national road network. "

It takes a lot of fare to ship them through airways, so, it is difficult to use this means. There is a problem with storing the ripped and are all set for a pick. There is no agriculture insurance, so there is no reimbursement for the unsold apples.

Dharma Shahi, Chief of the Agriculture Development Office, said that there is an issue of taking apples in the market. There are more than 70 farmers who have 50 apple tree plantations. The northern side of Humla is connected to the road, so there is no problem.

According to the office, there is a total of apple plantations in a 2,885-hectare area, and, there is an estimation of production of 4,321 metric tons of apples.