Baskuna village of Beni glows in shades of orange

By Thakur Prasad Acharya,Myagdi, Dec. 10: Baskuna village of Beni Municipality–4 is recently glowing in shades of gold this season as its orange orchards have ripened beautifully. 

Orange trees have transformed the entire village into a picturesque landscape. Traders are now approaching directly to farmers to purchase the harvest, while local farmers are busy picking oranges from dawn till dusk.

Locals, who replaced traditional paddy and millet crops with orange cultivation nearly 18 years ago, are now earning good benefits. 

According to Ken Khatri, a young farmer and also a ward member of Beni Municipality–4, orchards in Baskuna, Thamdanda and Surkemela together are expected to generate orange sales worth approximately Rs. 15 million this year. 

Around 40 households in the area are engaged in commercial orange farming, filling both terraced fields and hillsides with orange trees.

Tek Bahadur Khatri, another farmer shared that traders from Pokhara, Kathmandu, Dhading and Chitwan had visited last October, purchasing entire orchards in advance and providing initial payments. 

Those who paid advances in November last week have now returned in the first week of December to begin harvesting.

“This year, the trees have given better yield than last year,” he said. “Traders paid an advance of Rs. 100,000. We have around 185 orange trees in our orchard. Last year, we sold oranges worth Rs. 900,000 and this year we expect sales to reach Rs. 1 million.”

Encouraged by higher profits than from traditional crops such as paddy, millet, and maize, farmers have planted orange trees across all their land. 

In Baskuna commercial growers now earn between Rs. 500,000 and 2.5 million annually from oranges. For the past decade, traders have been arriving directly in the village to purchase the fruit, boosting farmers’ enthusiasm.

Farmers say traders classify oranges based on size and quality, buying them at 60 to 85 rupees per kilogram. 

The oranges of Baskuna are known for being juicy and flavourful, making them a favourite among buyers. “When it comes to Baskuna oranges, there is always high demand in the market,” locals said.