KATHMANDU, Oct, 8: Nepal is gradually becoming self-sufficient in flowers.
According to Dilip Bade, senior vice president of Floriculture Association of Nepal (FAN), import of flowers is falling in recent years, thanks to rising in flower production.

The demand for flowers like chrysanthemum, marigold and globe amaranth increases significantly during Tihar festival which begins in a fortnight. “Earlier, we used to import huge volume of marigold from India. Now, import of marigold has come down significantly,” he added.

“Last year, we had met around 40 percent of demand for marigold during Tihar festival through imports. This year import of marigold is expected to come down to almost 20 percent of the demand,” Bade added. “Our effort to promote marigold farming is yielding positive results.”

FAN, in association with Ministry of Agriculture Development, has been conducting marigold promotional programs in different parts of the country, for the past three years. According to Bade, FAN has distributed plastic tunnels required for two ropani of land and other required technical supports to around 50 farmers of Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Kavre, Pokhara, Nuwakot and Sindhuli. This has helped farmers to grow marigold throughout the year. 

“We have already achieved self-sufficiency in chrysanthemum and globe amaranth,” Bade told to Republica.  Bade further said that consumers will not have to face shortage of flower this Tihar.

According to the Nepal Commercial Floriculture Survey 2015/16 conducted by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), commercial flower farming is done in 36 districts in over 147.4 hectares of land. Flowers worth Rs 671.45 million were sold in Fiscal Year 2015/16, CBS said in a report prepared after the survey.

Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Morang, Kaski and Bhaktapur are the top five districts in terms of commercial flower farming.

Meanwhile, FAN is organizing Godavari Flower Exhibition at the Jawalakhel Football Ground from coming Thursday. The exhibition will continue till October 15. The four-day event is organized to promote local flowers and raise awareness among people regarding commercial flower farming, according to Bade.

“This is our annual event to promote floriculture in Nepal,” he said, adding: “Events like these have proved helpful to expand the market for flowers.” 

The expo will have 44 stalls showcasing different species of flowers, especially chrysanthemum. 

FAN celebrates silver jubilee

Floriculture Association of Nepal (FAN) on Saturday organized Rudramati (Dhobikhola) Clean-up Campaign as part of celebrating its 25th anniversary. 

Issuing a statement, the association said that it conduct the campaign in association with Rudramati Concern Society. Earlier, FAN had done gardening on the banks of Rudramati River. 
Addressing the event, Dal Bahadur Karki, chairperson of Ward No. 30 of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, expressed commitment to clean up the Rudramati River, the statement added.

 
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