Mathagadhi farmers earn Rs. 6mn from bayberry

BY REKHI RAM RANA,Tansen, May 4: Farmers of Wards No. 3 and 4 in Mathagadhi Rural Municipality sell bayberry (Kafal) worth around Rs. 6 million annually. 

Farmers from Devgir, Dandeni, Deurali, Maulathar and Makle areas of Ward No. 4 alone have sold bayberries worth Rs. 4 million. According to Gita Neupane, a local trader from Devgir, sales started from late March this year. She said that for the past five years, she has been collecting bayberries from local farmers and selling them in Tansen and Butwal.

Farmers usually pluck the berries from trees planted along the edges of their fields and sell them to local traders. Some farmers even travel to Tansen and Basatari to sell the berries, she said. She shared that last year alone, she sold bayberries worth over Rs. 4 million. Though the income may not be massive, the earnings from sales have helped local farmers manage their household expenses. The income is usually enough to buy essential items like salt, oil, lentils and rice.

According to Mathagadhi Rural Municipality Spokesperson Shankar Darlami, if there is no hailstorm this year, traders estimate that bayberries worth over Rs. 4 million will be sold by mid-May. Farmers typically sell bayberries at the rate of Rs. 100 per ‘mana’ (a local measurement unit), while those who take the berries to markets themselves earn between Rs. 150 to Rs. 200 per ‘mana’. 

The rural municipality has declared bayberry-producing areas as ‘pocket zones’ and has been facilitating traders to support and encourage local farmers. To make their collection easier, the municipality has also distributed crates free of cost to the farmers, Darlami added.

Similarly, farmers from Ward No. 3, especially from areas like Sikarkot, Bhaiskatta and Oles, also sell bayberries every year. Ward Chairperson Tej Bahadur Ghartimagar said that over Rs. 1.5 million worth of bayberry is sold annually from that area.

Farmers here sell bayberries in local markets like Sarai, Khahare and Damkada, as well as in Basatari, Tansen and Butwal. In recent years, its popularity has grown, especially because it is an organic fruit and free from pesticides.