JHAPA,June28:Development of road networks in Jhapa has helped improve the economic condition of farmers in the district. Road networks have expanded in different VDCs of Jhapa, creating positive impact on the villager's lives.
Gone are the days when farmers had to sell their crops at distant vegetable markets. Now, with the accessible road networks, businessmen personally visit their farms to buy their harvest.
“Businessmen visit our village every month to buy crops and hand us the money,” said Netra Prasad Bhattarai, a farmer of Bahundangi VDC 9 in Jhapa. “We are happy that our economic condition is slowly improving.”
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It was just a few years ago when farmers of Jhapa had to feed their excess pumpkins to their cattle. They couldn't even market their crops because of transportation problems. Most of the villagers in Jhapa have opted farming after expansion of road networks.
“Earlier we had food but could not sell it in market due to transportation problems,” Yam Bhujel, a local, shared. “The situation has changed now and we can easily reach Birtamod now to visit the market to sell our harvest now.”
According to District Agriculture Development Office (DADO), Jhapa, large number of villagers has been attracted to vegetable farming and animal husbandry with the expansion of road networks. Rajendra Prasad Kharel, plant protection officer at the DADO, said that the food products of Jhapa reach to different cities of Nepal and also to some Indian cities.
According to Kharel, locals of southern parts of the district such as Pachgachhi, Rajgadh, Chakchaki, Gherabari, Saranmati, Purwottar Bahundagi, Shantinagar, Budhbare and Khudunabari have started farming business. Individual and group farming have occupied about two hundred hectares of land for commercial farming.
Almost 80 percent of the harvests from these areas are sold at Birtamod-based agriculture market from where the harvests are again sold in Indian markets.
