Sarlahi. Indralal Bal, 47, a resident of Bagmati Municipality-10, has been involved in banana farming for the past nine years. He has cultivated banana on a seven and a half bigha field.
He said, ‘Because of the hard work and good trade, banana farming is generating a lot of income.’ He argues that agricultural production should be connected professionally. ‘We stop cultivating gold in our own soil and go abroad to earn brass,’ he said.
Having spent almost five years in Malaysia as a foreign worker, he urges the youth to do something in the country. For the past decade, he has been found in the banana fields from early morning to late evening. He has experience that for a farm to be good, it needs to be adequately cared for.
‘Our habit is to plant crops in the field and not go back,’ he said. ‘This is not how farming is done, our ancestors used to say. Knowledge is a source of knowledge, cultivation is a source of knowledge.’ Growing up watching his father and grandfather farming, he studied up to the proficiency certificate level in political science.
He is from. He joined the Maoist struggle against the then state government and went for foreign employment in 2065 BS. ‘There was a Maoist struggle in the country. I was also involved in it. In 2062/63 BS, a movement centered in Kathmandu took place. There was a lot of sloganeering there too,’ he recalled.
After the peace talks, the Maoist government came to power. Since we could not support our families, we reached Malaysia via India. 42 people who came from the Maoist conflict landed in Malaysia at once. The foreign land, climate, lifestyle, language, and costumes were all new. We were loaded with marble and stones there for months. It was very difficult. He said that foreign employment without skills would be a struggle for animals.
After working like this for five years, I returned home in 2071 BS. The money I brought from abroad ran out as soon as I built a house. Again, I was struggling to make ends meet. When my family got sick, I stopped even asking for loans from my neighbors. He did not even dare to go abroad, thinking about work and sorrow.
After that, he said that he rented a neighbor’s field and started banana farming. Since then, he has not had to look back at the sorrow. He says that banana farming has given him a respectable life from a situation where no one in the village believed in 500. He said that he received three kaths of land in the name of ancestral property and added ghaderi in two places in 10 years.
He says that he is completing the education of his three children according to their wishes, suitable for today’s era, with the income from this farm. He has taught pharmacy to one son. Two children are studying higher education. He says that being able to create an environment for his children to live in today’s society is a great asset.
Education is becoming very expensive for lower-class families like his. Having inherited three acres of land in the name of ancestral property, he said that he started banana farming by renting one bigha of land from his neighbor. His banana farming has now reached eight and a half bigha.
He pays a rent of Rs. 4,800 to Rs. 6,500 per acre per year. Bananas start producing 12 to 14 months after planting. He says that out of 9,200 banana plants, up to 100 banana plants are damaged due to natural disasters every year.
He says that he will sell bananas worth more than Rs. 3.1 million in 14 months from the farm, which initially invested Rs. 2.2 million in tillage, fertilizer, and labor. ‘Each household produces 90 to 100 bushels of bananas,’ he said, ‘I have planted Malbhog and Grade 9 (Ghu) banana plants. Each household produces up to 200 bushels of bananas.’
At least 350 to 500 bananas are sold per household at the rate of 3.50 paisa per bushel. He informed that they are sold at a higher price during Chhath and festivals. The bananas produced here are taken to local markets such as Harivan, Barhathawa, Naya Road, and Soalti.
‘He said that he has not been able to supply bananas according to market demand. Shopkeepers ask for more than 250 bananas per week,’ he said. ‘It is difficult to supply them with six to seven bighas of cultivation. I have been supplying them little by little.’
He says that the enthusiasm for farming has increased since he receives money daily. Kisan Bal has been giving regular work to five people in the banana plantation. They do work such as cutting leaves, weeding, fertilizing, and harvesting bananas. He says that since he himself works regularly, he himself does the work of one laborer. He said that there are problems in the market from time to time due to Indian bananas.
He said that our expensive investment products have to compete with bananas, which the Indian government has subsidized up to 90 percent by cultivating, investing and transporting to farmers. He demanded that the state should reform its policy of forcing farmers out of the country in the greed of small revenue. He said that only insufficient goods should be imported by giving priority to local products.
Those who plant seedlings in the fields and do politics and sit with their hands on their hips will not cultivate. He expressed regret over the creation of a narrative that there is no market and agriculture is being done to sink. Farmers understand that such comments have created a negative perception in society towards agriculture, so young people are eager to go to Korea, Japan, and Australia to do the same, but the fields in Nepal are barren.
He says that rather than saying that they do agriculture, farmers should get used to understanding the language of the plants they plant. Only those who meet the plants in the morning, afternoon, and evening and understand their needs and fertilize them will increase production.
He said that Bal is earning up to Rs. 100,000 per month from banana farming, saying that this profession has given him satisfaction. He says that to make any agriculture advanced, the state should focus on the use of technology and the development of farming systems.
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