Chhavilal Paudel of Phalewas Municipality in Parbat district has been earning approximately NRs 1.2 million annually from the sale of bananas, melons, and cucumber seeds.
Paudel generates this income from nearly 70 ropanis of land surrounding his home along the banks of the Kaligandaki River. He has invested around NRs 4 million in commercial fruit farming.
After leaving his job in South Korea and returning to his village, Paudel began commercial fruit cultivation and has since become a model farmer in the community.
His banana plantation has created employment opportunities for his family as well as two additional local workers. Paudel said he has been receiving satisfactory market prices for bananas following the government’s restriction on banana imports from India.
He supplies bananas to local markets in Phalewas and Kushma, as well as to larger markets in Pokhara and Kathmandu.
This year, Paudel sold around 60 quintals of melons. In addition, he produced and sold 30 kilograms of Bhaktapure Local cucumber seeds from eight ropanis of cultivated land. The cucumber seeds were sold at NRs 10,000 per kilogram.
Paudel has received support from Phalewas Municipality for the purchase of agricultural equipment, fertilizers, and seeds. Likewise, the Agriculture Development Office, Parbat, provided financial assistance of NRs 155,000 during the current fiscal year to expand banana cultivation under its Highway/ Corridor-Centered Agricultural Production and Promotion Program, according to Office Chief Gopal Sharma Lamichhane.
