Jumla, May 1: Big commercial apple farming has started in Jumla which has economic potential for apple farming.
Around 35,000 apple plants have been planted in Gutichaur Agro Farm under the leadership of Min Bahadur Bhandari, a farmer of Gutichaur Rural Municipality-5, Jumla. Around 28,000 apple trees have been planted in one place.
Apples of Fuji, Kingrang and Golden varieties were planted in that garden. Bhandari said that around 200 tonnes of apples are expected to grow this year whereas around 80 tonnes of apples were produced last year. He said that he managed the farm with an investment of about Rs. 220 million.
Bhandari informed that businessman Umesh Shrestha recently decided to invest 50 percent in that farm. The farm has received assistance of around Rs. 4.7 million under the Prime Minister Agricultural Modernization Programme of the government.
Similarly, Tanka Giri, a farmer of Gutichaur Rural Municiplaity-3, Lower Gutichaur, has engaged in commercial farming by planting 14,000 apple trees. He started commercial apple farming by establishing a company ‘Himali Tea and Agro Private Limited’. He has got a free support of Rs. 2.45 million from the Super Zone Office for commercial apple farming.
Similarly, a community apple garden with 2,800 plants has also been established in Gutichaur Rural Municipality-5. The community garden has covered the land of 40 farmers. The government has started investing in that area as well. The office has provided 50 percent support for the purchase of 1,500 apple trees.
