Orange trees serve as sources of gold for Suk Narayan

By Amar Raj Naharki,Tanahun, Dec. 29: For Suk Narayan Shrestha, orange trees are not only trees, but also sources of gold. Shrestha from Myagdey Rural Municipality-2, Tanahun has set an example using his skills and efforts in orange cultivation.

By selling the orange, Shrestha has been earning up to 7 million purees annually. This year, he has earned about 4 million rupees.

Shrestha used to be a political activist and was once the president of the then Jamune Village Development Committee. He quit politics and started the orange farm about two decades ago and has earned both name and from it. 

His farm is spread in 4.5 acres (36 ropanies) with 1,000 orange trees. From those trees, he earned a whopping 7 million rupees last year.

Shrestha said, a contractor had already booked orange fruits on the trees paying him 4 million rupees at the beginning of this season. But, compared to his last year’s business of 7 million rupees, his annual earnings declined significantly to 4 million this year. This is because the production itself was lower this season, he said.

Shrestha has set an example as a millionaire by selling the oranges. And now, he considers an orange tree as a machine that yields gold. “Oranges on the trees are not only orange for me, they are as precious as gold. Earlier, orange trees were considered as my passion, which have now been converted to gold trees now,” Shrestha added.

Shree Prasad Shrestha, Chair of Myagdey Rural Municipality, said that Suk Narayan has become a model farmer in the entire village. The orange farm of Suk Narayan is not only providing money to his family but also encouraging neighbours to be professional farmers, said Shrestha.

As a result, every family in the entire village has started an orange farm. 

Since 2060 BS, Suk Narayan has been running an orange farm as a professional farmer. In the first year, Suk Narayan had earned only 22,000 rupees. A few years later, his income soared to Rs. 1 million. And the income graph has been rising year after year accumulating to Rs. 7 million in the recent years.

Now Suk Narayan is happy with his business as he doesn’t need to wander around to sell the oranges. The contractors themselves arrive at his orange farm to pay the pre-booking amount for the fruit.

Though Shrestha has been earning millions of rupees, he has to bear the annual expenses of using pesticides and protection techniques.

Yukta Kumari Shrestha, wife of Suk Narayan has also been supporting her husband all through the journey of orange cultivation. They both have a beautiful story of the struggle they faced running the orange farm in the village.