Vegetable farmers of Duduwa in Banke now prefer maize cultivation

BY LAXMI TIMILSINA,Banke, Apr. 27: Farmers in Hirminiya of Duduwa Rural Municipality-6, Banke, who have traditionally cultivated vegetables for generations, are now turning their attention to maize farming, particularly winter maize. Farming has long been their ancestral occupation.

Gurudin Yadav, a farmer from Baldipur in Ward No. 6, is cultivating winter maize on a 60-kaththa plot of land. He said that he plants maize immediately after harvesting potatoes and grows maize in all seasons; winter, summer and rainy.

Jayapal Maurya, a farmer from Banghotna in Ward No. 6, said that maize farming provides a good income, with one kaththa producing up to four quintals of maize. According to Maurya, the Prime Minister's Agriculture Modernisation Project has created ‘vegetable and maize pocket areas,’ leading farmers in the region to focus more on maize cultivation.

He said, "Since maize yields more profit compared to vegetables, most farmers have been attracted to it." He started maize farming on 30 kaththas of land 20 years ago and now grows maize on 90 kaththas of land. He emphasised that with proper care of the fields, good yields can be achieved. While many other farms in Banke remain barren, most fields in Hirminiya are green with maize and vegetables. Farmers with smaller land plots are also growing vegetables and selling them directly in the market. He added, “We also grew vegetables earlier. However, after seeing the good profits from maize, we stopped vegetable farming."

Farmers now consider maize as a cash crop and have started using modern agricultural techniques. The adoption of these techniques has not only increased production but also reduced labour and costs. He said that by providing local employment opportunities, they have been able to stop people from going abroad for work. “We spend our mornings working in the fields,” he said. 

Mohanram Mishra, the ward chairperson of Duduwa 6, stated that maize and vegetable farming have not only established Hirminiya's identity but also brought significant income to the farmers. Thanks to the high returns from small land areas, the farmers are able to meet their basic needs. Mishra said, however, that farmers face challenges due to the lack of proper irrigation facilities for vegetable and maize farming. Despite this, locals have been investing in boring irrigation systems on their own. He stated, “We don’t know when the water from the Sikta Irrigation Project will come. However, the government has already allocated land for Sikta, and if irrigation facilities were provided, farming would be much easier.”

According to Sushil Kumar Sharma, the head of the Agriculture Department at Duduwa Rural Municipality, 475 hectares of land in Duduwa are used for winter maize farming. He said that maize is cultivated in wards 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. Sharma added that Hirminiya, Ward No. 6, has the largest area under maize cultivation in the region, with about 250 hectares dedicated to winter maize. Although the area for winter maize farming decreased last year, the area under maize cultivation has expanded in most of the wards of Duduwa this year.