NAWALPARASI: Farmers of some of the district VDCs including Kudiya, Pratappur, Narshahi and Tribeni have begun tobacco farming as replacement for sugarcane.

These VDCs of the Nawalparasi district began tobacco farming replacing their sugarcane crops as they failed to receive regular payment from sugar mills. They are farming on around 400 hectares of land.

Sugarcane farming is easy for making money as they could earn 25 percent more from the sugarcane crops than tobacco but the farmers gave up farming sugarcane out of frustration as they failed to receive the price for their labour.

It is reported that sugarcane is produced at around 15-20 quintals where 25 kg tobacco is produced.

Rs 80 is the average price of the tobacco leaves where as one quintal of sugarcane is priced at Rs. 600.

The sugarcane farmers are attracted toward tobacco farming as the Surya Tobacco Company, Simara, facilitated fertilisers and seeds for tobacco farming.

"It is difficult to farm tobacco because farmers need to toil almost all the year," the farmers said adding, "it is easier to produce sugarcane."

"I started tobacco farming as I have no alternative to sugarcane besides this” said another local farmer Kush Kumar Shrestha and added "if I get regular payment for sugarcane, I would restart the earlier job and give up tobacco farming."

Though tobbaco farming is not the best choice among the villagers they don't have any other alternative.

“We have been doing this, though it is not by choice,” said Raju Kurmi. He said "We plant tobacco in our land to prevent our land from turning barren."

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