Wednesday 23 December 2020

According to the Agriculture Knowledge Center Office, Lamjung, the production of oranges in Lamjung is declining every year. Farmers who have seen and are seeing the future in orange farming have become frustrated and worried about the decline in income due to pests and diseases. At one time, Bensishahar municipality ward no. Bhagwati Pant, a farmer from 11 Chiti Syaut, used to earn Rs 6 to 8 lakh annually from the sale of oranges.

For the past few years, the orange orchard has been producing less fruit due to insects and drying out. He said that barely Rs. 200,000 has been earned this year. Like him, most of the orange farmers in the district have the same problem. The production of oranges has been declining for the past few years in Syaut village, which is listed in the pocket area of the former District Agriculture Development Office, due to the inability of the orange trees to bear fruit. Although the farmers of Syaut earn around Rs. 20 million annually, they have been earning only Rs. 14.15 lakh for the last six years due to various problems in oranges. In the past, when oranges were good here, traders used to come and take them to the plant. Similarly, the production has been declining in Kuncha, Bhorletar, Chiti, Duradanda, Rainas, Gaunshahar, Bhoje and Udipur areas,

which have been known as good yielding or income generating gardens of the district in the last one year, said Madan Regmi, an economist at the Agriculture Knowledge Center Lamjung. According to the Agriculture Knowledge Center Office, 1,424 metric tonnes of oranges have been produced in an area of 302 hectares this year. Compared to last year, the production of oranges has decreased by 471 metric tonnes this year.

Last year, the district produced 1,895 metric tonnes of oranges in an area of 285 hectares. According to the office, 3,993 metric tonnes of oranges were produced from 493 acres in the last fiscal year 2074 BS. Similarly, 5,274 metric tonnes of oranges were produced in the fiscal year 2073/74, according to the office. Although the oranges produced in the district are well consumed in Kathmandu, Pokhara, Chitwan and other cities,

farmers are disappointed due to the decline in production. According to the Agriculture Knowledge Center Office, oranges are grown in an area of 1,200 hectares in Lamjung but only in an area of 500 hectares. Consumers are buying oranges brought from outside the district by paying Rs 150 to 180 per kg due to low production in the district.