Kaski, April 7: The National Potato Festival has kicked off on Sunday in Hemja of Pokhara Metropolitan City-25, a pocket area for potato production in the district of Kaski.
The organizer stated that the
festival will conclude on April 16.
Chairman of the organizing Bishnu
Paduka Club, Basanta Shrestha, mentioned that the festival was organized to
promote the production and publicity of potatoes and other vegetables grown
here in the area, as well as to establish Hemja as a popular commercial agricultural
tourist destination.
Potatoes grown in Hemja are
well-known in Pokhara and the surrounding areas, thanks to their good taste and
minimal use of pesticides.
For getting massive attention,
locals have created a massive pile of 50,000 kilograms of potatoes, the potato
collection and agriculture mobilization sub-committee coordinator Jayraj
Timilsina said.
Out of the total 13,500 hectares of
land in Hemja, potato farming is done on 550 hectares of land and some 2,000
households rely on agriculture here.
During the inaugural session of the
festival, Mayor of Pokhara Metropolitan City Dhanraj Acharya expressed that the
city would provide the best possible support to the local community for the
development of agriculture and other sectors.
Mayor Acharya urged local farmers
to take benefit from the Agriculture Ambulance introduced by the Pokhara
Metropolitan City for the sale and distribution of agricultural (RSS)