Kathmandu. Liladhar Jaisi of Baglung Municipality-13, Naya Pul, has a banana farm in the banana field where traders from the daily market live. Traders from Baglung and Kushma bazaars visit his farm every day in search of local varieties of bananas.

For the past six months, farmers in Liladhar and his village have not had to go to the market to sell bananas. The traders who come to the house every day search for the bananas themselves, cut them themselves and after counting, pay the money to the bottom of the banana plant. The farmers here are amazed to see this. The price of local bananas has increased after the import of Indian bananas was stopped.

The banana which used to be sold for Rs 60 per dozen in winter and Rs 70 to 80 per dozen in summer is now being sold at Rs 100 per dozen. “I don’t have to go to the market and I am very happy to get a higher price of bananas in my garden,” she said. In the villages, where there is a count of dozens, the traders collect bananas from the farmers’ fields and fill their bags. Bananas are another source of livelihood for the farmers here. Banana farming is being expanded in the area around the new bridge.

Ishwori Prasad Sharma, a farmer from Sarkuwa of Jaimini municipality-4 in Baglung district, said he has been getting good price for bananas lately. He said that although it was difficult to sell the local varieties of bananas when Indian bananas and Terai bananas arrived in the market, the demand for bananas is high in recent times. Moti Prasad Sharma, a farmer of Kushmishera in Jaimini Municipality-1, said, “Had we been able to produce bananas this time, we would have sold them at a better price.” He said that banana farmers are relieved as both demand and price have increased.

Farmers here have been cultivating bananas by utilizing their fields that grow millet and maize only during the rainy season. “I used to earn Rs 18,000 a year when I calculate the price of maize and millet,” Sharma said, adding, “With timely water and fertilizer, the banana that grows well has changed my daily routine.” In recent years, farmers in the village have switched from traditional farming to banana farming. Like Moti Prasad Sharma, farmers of Jaimini have cultivated bananas on barren land and arable land. The farmers have reared cows and buffaloes to meet the fertilizer required for banana cultivation. They save the water used for drinking water and irrigate the bananas.

According to Rabindra Sharma, agro technician of Jaimini Municipality, farmers have cultivated local bananas like Ramrekhare local, Malbok, Mungre, Dhruse, Fusre, Jajahi, and sugarcane. Some have engaged in commercial farming, while some have grown only a few bananas on their small land.

There is a lot of demand for local bananas in the market lately. Sagar Subedi, an entrepreneur at Baglung Bazaar, said that the demand for bananas is high as it does not require the use of pesticides and is tasty to eat. Subedi said, “The banana from here lasts for a long time even after ripening, there is no loss,” Subedi said, adding, “This banana is more beneficial to both businessmen and consumers than the banana of Tarai and India.” Subedi said that the farmers have been paid by increasing the price of bananas in recent times. According to him, the demand for bananas in Baglung market has been met by the local bananas in the last one year.

Local bananas are sold at Rs 120 to Rs 180 per dozen in the market. The price of bananas from the Terai is more than Rs 250 per dozen. More than 100 cartons of Indian bananas were imported daily from more than a dozen wholesale traders in Baglung Bazaar.

Traders here used to buy bananas by paying Rs 1,300 to Rs 1,600 per carton. But now all the demands are met by local bananas, said Khim Bahadur KC, a local wholesaler. “We don’t have a data on this much, but people used to go out to buy bananas more than two lakh per day,” KC said, adding, “We have not reached the demand for bananas, but now there is no shortage of local bananas.” ’

The local government of Baglung has also formulated various programs for the promotion of banana farming. Jaimini Municipality has announced a campaign titled ‘Shera Jau Banana Khao’. Harihar Sharma, deputy mayor of Jaimini Municipality, said that the local government has been supporting the farmers for seeds, fertilizer and marketing.