BAGLUNG, Dec 21: The fourth Orange Festival began in Sigana of Baglung municipality-8 on Friday.
Gandaki Provincial Minister for Land Management, Agriculture and Cooperatives Lekh Bahadur Thapa inaugurated the festival. On the occasion, Minister Thapa suggested carrying out collective farming in barren land through the local government and cooperatives.
Third Orange festival Kicks off in Baglung
The festival is expected to help promote the market for orange in the region. It will run until December 25.
Attractions also include orange eating competition, showcase of various cultural pageantry and town-level agriculture conference, according to the chair of the organising committee Ram Bahadur Khadka.
Sigana, the venue of the festival has been included under the 'orange zone' as part of the Prime Minister Agriculture Modernization Project, said ward no. 8 chair Rajan GC. A campaign has also been initiated recently to grow orange below an altitude of 1800 meters and tea in an altitude of above 1800 meters.
Oranges worth two million rupees are traded every year in Sigana.