Farmers in Gulmi are increasingly attracted to kiwi farming

लगानी न्यूज

९ कार्तिक २०८२, आईतवार १३:४८October 26, 2025

Gulmi. Yam Bahadur Thapa, 56, of Satyawati Rural Municipality-8 in Gulmi district has started earning a good income by doing commercial kiwi farming. Traditionally, only maize and millet are cultivated, and kiwi plants can be seen in his garden. He said he has been earning more than six lakh rupees annually from kiwi farming.

Thapa, who is also a ward member of Satyawati Rural Municipality-8, started commercial kiwi farming 11 years ago.TAG_OPEN_div_26 He currently cultivates 6 kiwi varieties — Allison, Hayward, Red, Golden, Bruno and Monty — in 8 ropanis of land.

} In terms of climate and geographical structure, Varse is considered to be a suitable place for kiwi farming. Last year, he earned Rs 6 lakh. Thapa said that it is expected to be better than last year.

Thapa was inspired to start kiwi farming after he started producing kiwi three years ago.TAG_OPEN_div_22 He grows 50 to 1 quintal kiwi on a single plant. Currently, there are 150 kiwi trees in the farm.

In the beginning, Thapa spent Rs 8 lakh to make wires, pipes and poles.TAG_OPEN_div_20 “The same investment has worked so far, because it is multi-year, once planted, you can earn income for 50 years, so I am happy about it,” he said. He said that kiwi is not more prone to diseases than other varieties of fruits. “I have to prune the branches twice a year, I have been using only cow manure and the production is also good accordingly,” Thapa said.

The kiwi produced is being sold for Rs 200 to Rs 300 in the market.TAG_OPEN_div_18 Varse’s kiwi is transported from the local market to Palpa and Butwal. He has been processing kiwi and has started making kiwi wine since last year. According to Thapa, there is a good demand for kiwi wine in the market. According to Thapa, there is no problem in the market to sell kiwi. He has also been doing kiwi nursery for the past five years. At present, there are eight thousand new kiwi saplings in his nursery. A plant costs between Rs 150 and Rs 200.

Satyawati Rural Municipality has been encouraging farmers by declaring Varse village as pocket area of kiwi. Tikaram Pandey, chairperson of Satyawati Rural Municipality, said that the rural municipality has been providing technical support, training, tunnel, nursery and saplings for the expansion of kiwi farming.

Among the other varieties of kiwi, golden and TAG_OPEN_div_14 red kiwi are considered to be the best. It costs Rs 100 more than other varieties of kiwi. This time the golden kiwi has got a good price. There are five Kiwi groups in Varse. Currently, 80 people are associated with the group. There are 10 to 150 kiwi plants in the houses of the farmers. Kiwi is grown on 40 hectares of land in the area.