DHANKUTA, APRIL 21
Local farmers are attracted to tunnel organic vegetable farming in Dhankuta Municipality.
Tej Kumar Sijali, a local of Dhankuta Municipality, produced organic vegetables in three tunnels in Dhankuta.
Sijali said that he had produced both seasonal and unseasonal organic vegetables in the tunnels.
He added that he had earned money from vegetable farming and spent it on his family's health and children's studies. "I produced tomatoes in the tunnel even though the climate is not suitable for tomatoes," he said.
Sijali said he not only produced tomatoes, but sold them in the market too.
Similarly, Prem Bahadur Pathak of Bhirgaun also cultivated tomatoes in tunnels.
He said that he did not use any chemical fertiliser.
He shared his experiences saying that the production was more in the tunnel compared to traditional farming.
Pathak said that he earned Rs 90,000 from organic tomato farming in a season.
Another local farmer Kul Bahadur Karki of Patle said he had earned much through tunnel vegetable farming. He said he had started professional vegetable farming through plastic tunnel since six months and earned a lot.
"The production was almost double in the tunnel compared to traditional farming," he said. Karki said he had constructed nine tunnels for organic farming with his own investment.
He said that the demand for organic vegetables was high.
Climate smart village, COVID-19 response and Social Economic Recovery Project Agriculture Programme was implemented with the management of Pardep Nepal and the economic support of the municipality and UNDP.
Local farmers made tunnels inside houses and started producing vegetables after the programme was implemented in the municipality.
A version of this article appears in the print on April 22, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.
