The festival is targeted at attracting Indian importers as the VDC borders India in the east. The four-day festival will begin from December 2.
During the festival, visitors can buy different varieties of oranges. Visitors can also get the opportunity to pluck oranges from trees and eat.
"We are hopeful that the festival will help boost our sales and attract more buyers from India," said Subash Tamang, former chairman of Jirmale VDC. [break]
Many farmers in Jirmale-1, 2 and 3 are into orange farming. The VDC, which has more than 100 orange orchards, sells oranges worth Rs 10 million every year. Buyers, mainly from Bagdogra in India, visit the orchards every Sunday during harvesting season.
“Oranges grown in Jirmale are already popular. We are hopeful that the festival will help make orange farming more organized,” Buddhi Bhattarai, a local crop protection officer, said.
Along with Jirmale, farmers of Soyang, Namasaling, Godak and Panchkanya VDCs are also engaged in commercial orange farming.
According to District Agriculture Development Office, orange is cultivated in more than 289 hectares. Total orange production in Ilam stands at around 3,550 tons.
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