Bhojpur. Deuman Rai of Sosetar of Pauwadungma rural municipality-2 here has been cultivating commercial Akbari chilli. He has cultivated chillies in 25 ropanis of land.

Rai, who has been cultivating chillies for the past eight years, has planted 17,000 saplings of chilli in Harhari this year. “I am engaged in chilli cultivation with the goal of doing something in my own place,” he said, adding, “This year, I have expanded chilli in 25 ropanis of land.” He said that the youths are doing commercial farming work in their own fields at a time when their interest in foreign countries is increasing.

According to him, the rural municipality has provided mulching plastic at 50 percent subsidy on the basis of the commercial plan. He has also employed two people at the farm.

He said that the chillies produced can be sold from home as there is access to the road. Not only Deuman, hundreds of others in the rural municipality are cultivating chilli.

Kiran Rai, chairperson of Pauwadungma rural municipality, said they are providing necessary assistance to the farmers on the basis of their business plan. According to him, the rural municipality is procuring agricultural ambulances and marketing the agricultural produce produced here.

The rural municipality has distributed agricultural materials, including mulching plastic, worth more than Rs 7 million to 750 farmers in the last fiscal year for the expansion of chilli cultivation. According to him, around Rs 180 million was brought to Pauwadung from chilli last year after the rural municipality launched incentive programmes.

Around 800 farmers in about 500 hectares of land here are cultivating chillies. According to rural municipality vice-chair Jyotsna Rai, the khusrani produced by the farmers reaches Dharan, Itahari, Biratnagar, Kathmandu and other cities through contractors along with the local market.