Nawalparasi. Geesh Bahadur Rana of Babak, Baudikali-5, Nawalparasi (Bardaghat Susta East) is happy to sell oranges from the plant at a good price this time. He said that in the previous years, we used to search for the market of oranges and the price was also low, but now we are happy to sell oranges easily from the orchard.

According to Rana, the orange farmers of Babak, which is known as a famous village for orange production in the district, have been selling oranges from their orchards. He said that the local traders are selling oranges at Rs 60 to Rs 65 per kg from the orchard.

“On the one hand, the price of oranges is easily sold from the orchard, and on the other hand, the price of oranges is higher than that of the previous year,” Rana said. Last year, the price of orange was sold at Rs 50 to Rs 55 per kg, but now the price has gone up slightly, he said.

At present, farmers are busy picking oranges planted in the hilly areas of Nawalpur. Krishna Saru, an orange farmer of Raikot in Bulingtar-5, said that it has become easier to sell the harvested oranges from the village. He has about a thousand orange trees. He said that he has been selling oranges in the local market after ripening.

Saru said that the orange seeds were also good this time as the weather was good and the market price was good. According to him, the oranges produced in Raikot last year were small but now they are doing well.

Saru said that he has been consuming the oranges produced in the local Kawasoti bazaar area. “Now the oranges are being sent to the market, they are being consumed in the local markets of the district, let’s see what happens later,” Saru said.

Orange is produced in the hilly areas of the district, including Babak, Raikot, Jauwari, Dhodeni and Deurali. Now the farmers have started harvesting oranges. Local traders go to the orchards to buy oranges. According to Rana, a farmer of Babak, some traders have been calling and sending oranges after asking for them.

According to him, oranges are being imported from Nawalpur’s local market and Narayangadh of Chitwan. “Traders have been demanding very well, we have to check the price and we are not worried about which market to sell it,” Rana said.

According to him, farmers themselves are worried about the price of oranges to be transported to the market. Local traders in different parts of the village have also been collecting oranges and buying them from the same place. This has made it easier for farmers to sell oranges.

Commercial orange production has increased in Nawalparasi (East) after the National Agriculture Modernization Programme, Programme Implementation Unit, Nawalpur implemented the Orange Fruit Zone Programme. Information Officer at the office, Rana Bahadur Mahato, said that there is 180 hectares of land in Nawalpur where orange fruits are grown.

In the last fiscal year, 1,400 tonnes of orange was produced in Nawalpur. According to Information Officer Mahato, 18 tons of lemons were produced. Last year, farmers earned Rs 8.90 crore from the sale of oranges and Rs 17.86 lakh from the sale of lemons.