Over the years, the seed produced has improved both in quantity and quality as there has been a steady demand by farmers from Attariya of Kailali to Jhapa, informed Punya Prasad Ghimire, a local.
"Their success has brought recognition not only to women´s potential in this field but to the whole village," said Ghimire.
The women´s entrepreneurship and the idea behind the seed production business had gotten off the ground after a group of 80 women registered the Shree Krishna Pranali Mahila Co-operative in 2007, with the main motive of investing in agribusiness. From the inception of the co-operative, the production and sale of the seed has been going on in a smooth fashion, said Narwada Kumari, chairperson of the co-operative.
According to Kumari, they have been cultivating the much-preferred NL 297 strain of wheat on 62 hectares of land and this strain has gained much popularity in both Nepal and India.
"Seed is distributed on a large scale from Gaur, headquarters of the district, as well as from the village itself. Local businessmen take loads of our produce to Bihar, India, including Champaran district," said Kumari.
The women have been cultivating seven types of paddy seed on 71 hectares. "The paddy has been chosen as per the demand and preference in the Terai region but the taste and quality have been liked across the country," she said.
Coordinator of the co-operative Jasodha Timilsina said that even though the production of seed is on such a large scale, customers have been disappointed over insufficient supply. "Last year, we were able to produce 4,000 quintals of the seed and that was not sufficient for all our customers," she said.
The quality of seed and the actual cultivation are regularly monitored by the National Seed Corporation, Hetauda, said Kumari. "We never compromise on quality and we invite officials from the co-operative to make observations. We have rarely failed their monitoring," she added.
"The price of the seed we produce could be higher because of certain extra expenses involved but the basic rates set by the seed co-operative have been tagged on in the course of all these years," she further added.
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