Ramechhap, Aug. 6: It has been more than four years as Janak Lal Tamang of Kale Mane located in Khandadevi Rural Municipality-8 Gagalbhadaure of Ramechhap has been engaged in commercial cultivation of papaya.

Tamang, who returned to Nepal after working in South Korea for seven years, started commercial fruit cultivation in his village four years ago.

While working in Korea, Tamang earned up to Rs. 250,000 per month. When he returned to Nepal after seven years of foreign employment, his visa was canceled due to the global spread of COVID-19 pandemic.

After that, Tamang became unemployed in Nepal and he spent more than a year in search of employment. But he didn't get a job he wanted. After that, he decided to invest some of the money he had and engage in agriculture on his own land and enjoy his family in Nepal.

According to his decision, he started commercial fruit cultivation on his own land.

With starting fruit cultivation, he faced various problems, but he continued to cultivate papaya according to his plan, he said.

He has now formed a TMG Agro Farmer Group of 20 people and has expanded commercial papaya fruit cultivation not only in his district but also in other districts.

Tamang said more than Rs. 40 million has been invested in his papaya cultivation during these four years.

He said, "It has been more than four years since the commercial cultivation of papaya has started. So far, we are still expanding papaya cultivation. At present, papaya cultivation has been expanded on some lands in Sindhuli, Kavrepalanchowk, Udayapur and Dang districts through farmers' groups. More than 10,000 papaya plants have been planted in these districts this year.”

According to him, papaya trees have been planted in 20 ropalies of land in Panchkhal of Kavrepalanchowk, 25 ropaines in Katari of Udayapur and 20 ropanies in Dang this year.

He said that now the group is working as per the goal of processing papaya and supplying papaya juice at national and international level.

There are more than 7,500 trees of papaya in 35 ropanies of the farmer's group in Khandadevi Rural Municipality-8, Gagalbhadaure.

This year, new plants have been planted in additional 45 ropanies of land.

Tamang said that one papaya tree that gives yield for two years produces up to 90 kg at a time.

He said that the group is working as per the plans to make juice, wine, cookies and make compost from leaves.

Construction of juice processing centre begins at cost of Rs. 10 million In the meantime, the construction of a processing centre for the production of papaya juice has started in Gagalbhadaure of Khandadevi Rural Municipality-8.

TMG Agro Farmers Group has been cultivating papaya fruits commercially for three and a half years. Along with this, the locals have also started cultivating papaya fruit.

Ajay Tamang, Secretary of the Farmers Group, said that the construction of juice processing centre at a cost of Rs. 10 million is going on.

The juice processing centre is being built with 50 per cent each of the Agro Farmers' Group and Rural Enterprise and Economic Development Project Dhankuta under the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development.

Under this plan, processing equipment will be purchased, fruit cultivation will be expanded and drip irrigation will be arranged, he said.

Secretary Tamang said that they had a plan to produce the juice of fruits grown in the villages and other fruits and supply them to the national and international markets.

Published on: 6 August 2024 | The Rising Nepal