Dang, December 29

Tharu women of Dhamkapur of Tulsipur sub-metropolis are becoming self-reliant through commercial vegetable farming.

Syani Chaudhary, 42,who has already established her identity as a successful woman farmer in the community, is one of them. She is into commercial coriander farming for the past 13 years. She saves Rs four lack in a year by selling green coriander leaves alone.

Though she has been involved in vegetable farming for the past 17 years, she started commercial farming  some 13 years ago. She has cultivated coriander of local variety in an area of 10 kathha land.

She cultivates coriander twice in a year and she has already purchased land for vegetable cultivation.

Similarly, Rekha Chaudhary, 50, of the same locality, is another successful women farmer in the community. She has grown vegetables like Chamsur, spinach, cabbage and tomato in 15 kathha land. She every morning walks up to Tulsipur bazaar carrying the basket full of fresh vegetables to sell the vegetable. Her family was initially into traditional paddy cultivation and decided to switch to vegetable farming five years ago in the hope of making a good income.

“It requires hard work, but the return is quite good in comparison to paddy farming,” she shares. Her annual income is Rs three lack in a year. But She has so far got no opportunity to get training on vegetable farming.

Another woman from the same village, Rajapati Chaudhari, 40, has also become self-reliant with the commercial vegetable farming. She is growing vegetables in 16 kattha land. Her annual income is Rs 350 thousand per year.  Cabbage, cauliflower, tomato are some of the vegetables she cultivates. She reaches Tulsipur bazaar every morning to sell vegetable.

She hopes the facilities of irrigation, fair price and marketing, easy availability of improved seeds and pesticides, and occasional training would help her augment income. Deputy Mayor at Tulsipur sub-metropolis Maya Acharya informed that a building for vegetable market was under construction at Tulsipur.