After working in Dubai for six years, Narayan Adhikari of Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City-14 has started commercial farming on 1.5 bighas of barren land. Returning from abroad, Adhikari adopted modern farming techniques to cultivate fruits, vegetables and cereal crops, turning land that had remained uncultivated for years into productive farmland.
While in Dubai, Adhikari regularly watched videos on agricultural technologies on his mobile phone. After returning to Nepal, he tested his land. As the test showed high acidity in the soil, he applied lime at the advice of agricultural technicians. He then started livestock farming to produce the organic manure required for his crops.
Of the 1.5 bighas of land, Adhikari has planted dragon fruit, papaya, avocado, lemon, litchi and jackfruit on around 15 katthas, with various vegetables grown as intercrops. He uses the remaining land to grow cereal crops.
In the first phase, he planted 300 Malaysian Red Siam dragon fruit saplings. He is currently preparing to plant additional 260 saplings. The dragon fruit began producing from the second year after planting, yielding around 1.5 quintals in the first year, he said. The produce was sold for Rs. 300 to Rs. 400 per kilogram.
Similarly, after getting a good yield from 25 Malaysian Red Lady papaya plants grown on a trial basis, Adhikari is preparing to expand papaya cultivation to five katthas of land. He has also planted avocado, lemon and litchi on a trial basis.
Adhikari has registered an integrated agriculture and livestock farm and invested around Rs. 2 million in it. He has fenced the farmland and also started cattle farming. He currently has three milking cows. He said he earns around Rs. 40,000 a month from selling milk and more than Rs. 30,000 annually from seasonal vegetables.
He has reduced the use of chemical pesticides and produces organic manure from cow dung and urine. “I save more than Rs. 50,000 a month after deducting all expenses,” Adhikari said. “I decided to stay here only and engage in farming instead of going abroad”
Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City has supported him with drip irrigation and dragon fruit farming. He has also received a concessional loan provided by the government to entrepreneurs with innovative knowledge, skills and capabilities.
