Ribdikot, Rainadevi to hold orange festival

By Our Correspondent,Tansen, Nov. 21: Two municipalities in Palpa are set to organise an orange festival to promote and market their local produce. 

Ribdikot and Rainadevi Chhahara rural municipalities are gearing up for the festival to boost the market for oranges cultivated by the majority of farmers in their areas.

More than 500 farmers in these rural municipalities are engaged in commercial cultivation of orange. 

Ribdikot's Chairperson Narayan Bahadur Karki said that the festival will be held on December 5-6 this year to expand the market for locally grown oranges. 

According to him, the event aims to encourage farmers involved in orange production and to exchange knowledge and experiences, as well as to secure market opportunities.

The festival will showcase orange-based products such as juice, jam, and other items. Other citrus products, including lemons, sour oranges, junar, and muntala, will also be displayed at the event.

Ward Chairperson of Ribdikot-7, Dan Bahadur Kunwar stated that the festival will also feature demonstrations on orange farming techniques, marketing strategies, potential products derived from oranges, disease prevention methods, and an exhibition of orange seedlings. 

He noted that this year, the two municipalities are collaborating to organise the festival, following the success of Ribdikot's first orange festival held last year.

In recent years, many farmers in the region have shifted to commercial orange farming. Last year, Palpa district exported oranges worth Rs. 460 million, with over 70 per cent of the sales coming from these two municipalities alone. 

According to the Agriculture Knowledge Centre in the district, commercial orange farming is practised in six wards of Ribdikot and three wards of Rainadevi Chhahara.