Mustang. A satellite agriculture farm is to be set up at Loghekar Damodarkunda Rural Municipality-2, Ghami in Upper Mustang as a branch of the Temperate Horticulture Development Centre at Marfa, Mustang. Preparations have been made to set up a satellite farm in Ghami with the aim of preserving and promoting temperate fruits and vegetables produced in horticulture.
Padmanath Atreya, office chief of The Temperate Horticulture Development Centre, said that the process of acquiring land for this purpose has reached the final stage. Centre chief Atreya said that 801 ropanis of land has already been registered in the name of the government for the establishment of a branch farm of horticulture center Marfa and the process of acquiring land in the name of horticulture center will be completed within a few months.
Centre chief Atreya said that due to climate change in recent times, temperate fruits and vegetables, including apples, are gradually growing towards heights, so there is a need to set up a horticulture satellite farm at Ghami in Upper Mustang. Apples, walnuts, aru, arubakhada, khurpani, paper almonds, grapes and other fruits grown in lower Bhek of Mustang have started to be produced upstream due to climate change. Preparations have been made to set up a satellite farm in Upper Mustang to protect these temperate fruits and vegetable crops.
Chairman of Loghekar Damodarkunda Rural Municipality, Lopsang Chomphel Bista, said that the expansion of the branch in Upper Mustang would help the farmers there. “The farmers of Upper Mustang have a lot of problems in transporting fruits and vegetable seeds and saplings, and the transportation cost becomes expensive,” bista said, adding, “After the establishment of the horticulture branch above, the farmers of Upper Bhek will easily get saplings, which is also an opportunity and a matter of happiness for us.” ’
He said the municipality and the local community were continuously facilitating the horticulture centre to acquire land to set up a farm in Upper Mustang.
According to the Horticulture Development Center, the process of establishing the office and expanding the farm will be forwarded as soon as the land acquisition process in the name of the center is completed. There are three units for the farm at Ghami in Upper Mustang and various blocks will be constructed to produce seeds and saplings of various fruits and vegetables there.
The Centre distributes fruit saplings, including apples, to the farmers every year in January and January. But at that time, the farmers of Upper Mustang fall to avoid the winter, so apple saplings are planted there only in April and April. According to the Center, the satellite farm to be set up in Upper Mustang will also contribute to solve this problem.
The Centre believes that there is a lot of potential to expand the agricultural area on a large scale in Upper Mustang and the farm to be established there to make Mustang known as the capital of apples for hundreds of years will further motivate the farmers there.
About 30-35 years ago, there used to be good apple production in Ghasa, Lete and Kunjo areas of Thasang rural municipality of Mustang, but due to climate change, apple cultivation has stopped in that place for many years. Due to climate change and rising temperatures, the place has started producing kiwi fruit in temperate climates instead of apples.
The Temperate Horticulture Development Centre at Marfa, Mustang was established in 2023 BS. According to the Centre, commercial apple farming has started in Mustang after the establishment of the farm. Marfa’s Horticulture Development Centre produces and sells quality seeds and saplings of fruits and vegetables to local farmers of Mustang. At present, the centre has a total of 196 ropanis of land. Of these, 175 ropanis of land is in Marfa, 20 ropanis in Ghasa and one ropanis in Jomsom. The centre has been producing fruit saplings and vegetables and vegetable seeds in four blocks of Marfa.
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