Bhojpur. Satak Bahadur Rai, 71, of Hatuwagadhi-5, Homtang has been earning a lot of income by cultivating avocado commercially. Rai has been commercially cultivating avocado in around 20 ropanis of land. Even in his old age, Rai’s hard work in avocado farming is very enticing.

Rai said that commercial avocado farming has been expanded with the goal of becoming self-reliant on agriculture by utilizing the barren land. “I have been doing avocado farming commercially and I am trying to expand the farming with the aim of using the barren land. The sale of avocados saves some money on household expenses,” he said. He said that he is working on additional farming as per the target of earning Rs 10 to 12 lakh annually in the future.

The avocados produced by Rai are supplied to big cities of the country including Kathmandu, Biratnagar, Dharan, Itahari along with the local market. According to him, emphasis has been laid on the expansion of perennial crops with the objective of becoming self-reliant in agriculture. “If the crop is extended for a long time, it will be possible to earn income for a long time,” he said, adding that if the plants are grown well, they can easily earn long-term income with general care. ’

The number of people involved in commercial agriculture has increased in Bhojpur of late with the necessary support from the local level and other state bodies. Farmers have been complaining that there is a problem in marketing the produce due to lack of smooth transportation of their produce in rural areas. Farmers said that it would be easier if the state paid attention to the marketing of the produce produced by the farmers.