KATHMANDU: Banana farmers in Dang are feeling optimistic this festive season as they secure better prices for their produce. After facing disappointment last year due to low market rates, local growers are seeing improved returns this year.
Ranaprasad Subedi, a farmer from Sisahaniya in Rapti Rural Municipality-7, reported selling bananas worth Rs 900,000 since the Krishna Janmashtami festival. Subedi, who cultivates bananas across 35 bighas in the Deukhuri region, earned Rs 500,000 during Janmashtami and approximately Rs 400,000 during the Teej festival. He noted that production was impacted earlier this year when windstorms in February destroyed 12,000 plants.
Subedi, who also serves as the president of the Rapti Banana Promotion Group, attributed the price increase to a reduction in banana imports. “Last year, the price was so low that bananas were rotting in the fields. That situation has disappeared this year,” he said, noting that the lack of outside competition has benefited local producers.
Another farmer from Sisahaniya, Vidyabahadur Chaudhary, reported earning Rs 300,000 from his harvest this year. Chaudhary, who has been farming for seven years on seven bighas of land, noted that he is currently selling bananas at Rs 100 per dozen directly from his farm. In contrast, he struggled to sell them for Rs 70 per dozen last year. Traders from Lamahi, Bhaluwang, and Sisahaniya are now visiting the farm to purchase the fruit.
According to the Agriculture Knowledge Center in Dang, banana farming, primarily of the Malbhog and Harisal varieties, covers 447 hectares in the district. The region produces approximately 9,973 metric tons of bananas annually.
