Banana farmers in trouble as sales decline

By Our Correspondent,Ghorahi, Oct. 7: Farmers in Rapti Rural Municipality–7, Sisahaniya, Dang are facing severe financial hardship after failing to sell their banana harvests during the festive season.

Rana Prasad Subedi, a local of Sisahaniya, has been cultivating bananas for over a decade. 

He grows the popular Malbhog variety of banana on 53 bighas of land. Subedi had prepared bananas worth an estimated Rs. 4 to 4.5 million for sale during Dashain, one of major Hindu festivals, which typically increase agricultural sales. 

However, due to a lack of buyers, a large portion of his produce went unsold.

“Around Rs. 400,000 worth of bananas have gone to waste right in the field,” said Subedi. 

He attributes the unsold produce to an influx of cheaper Indian bananas in the local market. 

Despite bananas selling for over Rs.100 per dozen in retail markets, wholesalers have offered as little as Rs. 25 per dozen for local produce, making it unviable for farmers to sell.

“This year, the market crash has hit us hard,” Subedi said. “The bananas are ripening on the trees and rotting before our eyes.”

Subedi explained that Indian bananas, imported at lower costs, have reached the local market, leaving Nepali farmers unable to compete. 

The situation has become so dire that he finds it emotionally difficult to even visit his banana farm. 

The problem is not only limited to Subedi. Gayatri Chaudhary, another farmer from Sisahaniya, is experiencing a similar crisis.

She has cultivated the Harichhal variety of banana on two bighas of land. Despite having a harvest ready for market, she says she cannot sell her bananas at a fair price.

“Wholesalers are offering only NPR 20 per dozen,” Chaudhary said. “That doesn't even cover the cost of production. How can we sell at such rates?”

She, like many others, shifted from crops like paddy, mustard and lentils to banana farming in recent years, seeing it as a more profitable and less labour-intensive alternative. 

But now, with the inability to compete with Indian imports, she fears losing hundreds of thousands rupees in investment.

Chaudhary also mentioned that waterlogged fields have caused many banana plants to collapse, compounding the losses.

Subedi, who also serves as the Chair of the Rapti Banana Producers Association, informed that more than 33 farmers in the Deukhuri region are involved in commercial banana farming and most are struggling to find markets for their produce due to the Indian banana influx.

According to Prithivi Raj Lamichhane, Information Officer at the Agricultural Knowledge Centre in Dang, the district has nearly 1,000 bighas under commercial banana cultivation, with over 600 bighas in the Deukhuri area alone. 

Lamichhane confirmed that while Dang has the ideal soil and climate for banana farming, local producers are unable to compete with cheaper Indian imports, pushing many into economic difficulty.