Agricultural fair held in Marsyangdi

By A Staff Reporter 

Kathmandu, Jan. 23: An agricultural fair and exhibition has been held in Marsyangdi Rural Municipality of Lamjung district. 

On the occasion of National Agricultural Biodiversity Week 2082, the rural municipality organised the agricultural fair and exhibition on Wednesday on the premises of the Agriculture and Livestock Service Centre in Khudi, Ward No. 3. 

Farmers, farmer groups, agricultural farms and cooperatives from various villages of the municipality displayed the agricultural and livestock products they had produced.

Organised with the slogan “Agricultural Biodiversity, Our Priceless Heritage”, the exhibition featured 59 categories of items, including food grains, vegetables, fruits, potatoes, pulses and cash crops, seeds, nursery plants, honey and processed products, as well as livestock and poultry-related items. 

According to the Agriculture and Livestock Development Branch, 11 outstanding farmers were selected on the basis of evaluation. According to Binod Dahal, Head of the Agriculture Branch, Ghanpokhara Agricultural Cooperative Institution alone displayed 63 varieties of indigenous rice. 

Similarly, six varieties of millet were also exhibited. Items that attracted visitors’ attention included wild yam, cliff honey, amala (Indian gooseberry), lemon, orange, various leafy vegetables such as mustard green, cauliflower, chillies including akabare, radish, banana, pumpkin, and fruit and vegetable crops such as coffee.  On the livestock side, cockerels, buffaloes, goats and fish were also on display.

During the programme, the Agriculture Development Office conducted an agricultural camp. 

In addition, handicrafts produced by trainees of the Rural Training Centre, Simpani, as well as handicraft items produced in rural areas, were also included in the exhibition. Visitors came from Marsyangdi Rural Municipality and Besishahar Municipality to observe the exhibition. 

Students from Amar Secondary School, Khudi, and Himchuli English School also visited the exhibition.

Chairperson of Marsyangdi Rural Municipality, Arjun Gurung, said that the fair was organised to encourage farmers and making agriculture a professional occupation. According to him, such programmes help boost farmers’ morale and attract young people to the agricultural sector.

Outstanding farmers were awarded Rs. 1,500 in cash along with certificates, while participating farmers received Rs. 500 each as an incentive. 

The award recipients included Som Bahadur Tamang, Suryakala Karki, Bikram Thapa, Umar Bahadur Gurung, Chudamani Bhandari, Ghanpokhara Agricultural Cooperative, Pas Bahadur Tamang, Bishakha Gurung, Sonam Gurung, Dil Bahadur Tamang and Ravi Thapa. 

To facilitate the sale of local agricultural produce, a weekly open market (haat bazaar) is also operated here every Sunday.