Asyalo farming in Mugu: Farmers get good price when traders reach village

The production has been affected due to the storm and hailstorm in more than 3 dozen places of Mugu during the apple flowering season (March-April). Production has decreased in pocket areas including Talcha, Kalapalta, Dhum, Maithu, Rowa, Ghatlekh, Shobha, Talilekh, Chimath, Papu, Bam, Sorukot, Dhan, Kalai, Siddi, Amale, Lumera, Kotila, Seri, Jam and Raskodibada among other pocket areas of the district. According to Tej Bikram Malla, chief of the National Agriculture Modernization Programme Implementation Unit, Mugu, out of the total area of 3,53

5 square kilometers in the district, 16,763 hectares is arable land. Apple is cultivated on 730 hectares of land in the district, but at present, apples are grown only in 405 hectares.

This year, 2,400 metric tons of apples have been produced from 265 hectares of land. Last year, 2,405 metric tons of apples were produced. This year, farmers have bought and sold 221 metric tons of apples at the rate of Rs 65 per kg in the orchard. A total of more than Rs 1.80 crore worth of apples has been traded for personal use and open sale.

Malla said that in the past, the apple yield was good but the price was low.

Although the price of apples is good, the farmers are worried after the production was reduced due to natural calamities. Hari Bahadur Bham, a farmer of Chhayanath Rara Municipality-4, said, “We have been managing household expenses, children’s education and other expenses from this apple farming. This year, the production was low and there was a lot of problem.” According to him, a small number of apples produced during the sale of apples have also been stuck at home due to the closure of the road network due to rain. He complained that the farmers who are trying to become self-reliant have not received any kind of help from the three tiers of government of the state.

The road was blocked due to rain when the remaining apples were being sold due to hailstorm and storm. Millions of apples worth lakhs of rupees have been stored in the village as the local government has not opened the closed road from Gamgadhi to Shobha. Due to the lack of cold storage and godown in the village, farmers have to store apples in open sheds. Some of the apples have to be given to their relatives and the cattle have to be turned into logs. Hukum Budha, a farmer of Chhayanath Rara Municipality Ward No. 12, said.

He said, “What will the farmers do only by producing? When there is no timely relief or outlet from the local government and any other body, it is not only apples; Farmers have to face more problems as potato, radish, cabbage, chauti (yak or local vegetable), cauliflower, beans and other crops and vegetables are not being transported to the market on time.”The farmers of the mountainous region can become self-reliant through agriculture only if there is regular operation of the road network, arrangement of cold storage and timely access to the market.