Parbat Orange Farmers Reap Double Prices as Supply Dwindles Elsewhere

Myagdi. Farmers in Banskark, Jaljala Rural Municipality-1, Parbat, who started harvesting oranges after supplies elsewhere dried up, have secured double the price. Farmers in Banskark began harvesting after the month of Magh, as farmers in other areas finished selling their oranges at an average rate of NPR 70 to 80 per kilogram. Lead farmer Jagat Bahadur Khatri stated that the price of Banskark oranges, currently selling at NPR 160 per kilogram, is increasing daily.

"As orchards in other parts of the country become empty, traders have started buying oranges from Banskark," he said. "Since the oranges remain in the orchard until the month of Magh, Banskark oranges have fetched a good market price. Oranges will sell for up to NPR 200 per kilogram by the end of Magh."

Major traders from Pokhara, Kathmandu, and Chitwan have arrived in Banskark to purchase oranges. Out of 239 households in Banskark, located at an altitude between 1,100 and 1,900 meters above sea level, 200 households engage in orange farming. An average family sells at least NPR 500,000 worth of oranges annually.

Fifty-three years ago, when Bal Bahadur Armaja and Bal Bahadur Khatri planted orange saplings in Banskark, neighbors uprooted and threw them away, fearing that the cultivation would spoil the land. Although they are no longer alive, society remembers them for facing accusations of planting thorns to ruin the fields when commercial orange farming was introduced in Banskark. The benefits of the plan conceived by Armaja and Khatri five decades ago to make the village prosperous and self-reliant are now being enjoyed not only by their descendants but by all residents of Banskark.

"Our father planted orange saplings in 2028 BS, which were uprooted and thrown away; the saplings planted later in 2032 BS are still bearing fruit today," said Nar Bahadur, son of Bal Bahadur Khatri. "It has been 22 years since my father passed away, and my brother and I sell oranges worth NPR 10 to 13 lakh annually. We are living off our father's pension. Orange farming has changed the economic and social status of Banskark residents."

Orange cultivation covers 1,500 ropanis of land in Banskark. This year, orange production is estimated to be worth NPR 200 million. Banskark has 51,151 orange trees. Lead farmers say that commercial orange farming began expanding in Banskark in the 2030s after awareness of commercialization grew and the Agricultural Development Bank started providing loans, following the planting of one or two trees in kitchen gardens for leisure around 1997/98 BS in BajarMare and Biramare.

Some farmers also operated nurseries because retired Gurkha soldiers working at the Lumle Agricultural Research Center initiated the commercialization of orange saplings. Shantabhadur Chhintel, who sells oranges worth NPR 2.3 million annually, said that their economic status has changed significantly. "After cultivating paddy, millet, and maize, we couldn't even eat for six months; we were forced to go abroad to educate our children and manage household expenses," he said. "Now, we are self-reliant and self-employed, and we can even provide work in the orchards to others."

There are 51,151 orange trees on 1,500 ropanis of land in Banskark. Mek Bahadur Khatri, the principal of Jyotimandal Secondary School in Banskark, who led the survey, stated that this year, approximately NPR 200 million worth of oranges were produced from 26,706 trees. Last year, sales were worth NPR 180 million, NPR 110 million in 2080 BS, and NPR 100 million the year before. The increase in production is attributed to area expansion, the addition of new fruit-bearing trees, orchard management, favorable weather, reduced fruit drop, and a higher yield of fruits.

"An additional 24,445 orange trees are growing in the orchards," Khatri said. "Through orange farming, a family earns an annual income ranging from NPR 400,000 to 4 million." It is estimated that when all trees bear fruit, production will double in a few years, reaching nearly NPR 400 million.

Farmers in Banskark have taken up orange farming as an alternative to paddy, millet, maize, and wheat cultivation. There is a legend that Banskark got its name because it was once a bamboo forest where cattle and sheep sheds were kept during winter. The old slopes of Banskark have now transformed into orange orchards.

Tourists visit to observe the orange orchards. Banskark is the entry point for the Annapurna-Dhaulagiri Community Environmental Trail, which covers Myagdi and Parbat. Homestays are operating in Upper Banskark.