सिंहदरबार संवाददाता
Dang. Education: Agricultural technician. Occupation: Strawberry farming (groundnut). After getting education and work, Kailali farmer Dashrath Saud’s strawberry farming in Ghorahi has flourished. Bhaskar Pangeni from Kapilvastu has supported his strawberry farming in Bharatpur, Ghorahi Sub-metropolitan City-15.
Saud himself looks after the technical side of strawberry farming. The 26-year-old, who started strawberry farming three years ago, said that last year alone he had a strawberry turnover worth Rs. 1.8 million. ‘Last year, Rs. 1.1 million was saved,’ he said. ‘Now, more than 70 kg is being sold daily.’ According to him, more than 400,000 strawberries have been sold so far this year.
Saud has been farming strawberries on lease on 15 acres of land. He said that strawberries are being sold at Rs 700 per kilogram in retail and Rs 500 in wholesale. He said that strawberries are being sent to places including Dang, Butwal, Nepalgunj and Dhangadhi.
Farmer Saud said, ‘After studying subjects related to agricultural technology, I started farming strawberries by setting up an agricultural farm with the idea of doing something in this field. Now I am earning a good income from this.’ He said that the use of technology in traditional agriculture has led to success.
Not only in Ghorahi, Saud has also been cultivating strawberries commercially in 12 kattas in Kapilvastu and 10 kattas in Kailali. Saud understands that strawberries are considered a good fruit due to their deliciousness and nutritional properties and that there is no problem in selling them.
He said, ‘Initially, more than Rs. 700,000 was spent on bringing seedlings, irrigation, etc. The seedlings planted towards the end of Bhadra have now yielded results, and there is no problem in the market either.’ According to him, 40 percent of the total production is being sold in Dang alone.
‘Strawberries are among those that grow in cold places,’ he said. ‘Today and tomorrow will be good.’ He says that the number of farmers cultivating them commercially has started increasing in the district recently.
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