A farmers’ group at Aarukharka, Phedikhola rural municipality of Syangja district has been making decent income by selling maize seeds. The Jaisidanda Farmers’ Group sold 16 tonnes seeds of the ‘Manakamana-3’ variety maize in fiscal year 2021/22, earning Rs 1 million 664 thousand.
A women-only farmers’ group, the Jaisidanda Farmers’ Group has been producing and selling the seeds of this variety of maize for the last 11 years. Sangeeta Hamal, the Group’s chairperson, said, “We have been producing the ‘Manakamana-3’ maize seeds since the last 11 years. We sold 16 thousand 641 kilogrammes maize seeds last fiscal year at the rate of Rs 100 per kilogram.”
The Group sold 10 tonnes seeds and earned Rs 900 thousand in fiscal year 2020/21. Hamal said that there is high demand for seeds of this variety of maize in various districts including Syangja and they have not been able to meet the growing demand.
“We had the target of producing around 20 tonnes seeds this year but could not meet the target due to drought and other reasons,” Hamal said. Kalpana Poudel, the Group treasurer, said that the seeds they produce are supplied to local market in Syangja as well as to Pokhara, Chitwan, Gorkha, Lamjung, among other places.
She shared that there is no problem for the market as the seeds are high in demand from agriculture-related offices, organisations, agro-vet within the district as well as from outside districts. The samples of the seeds produced are sent to the laboratory for examining its germination power, moisture content and purity. Once the seeds are found qualified through the lab test, the maize seeds are collected from farmer’s fields and brought to the collection centre for the purpose of selling it.
As the Group claimed, the quality of seeds produced and its results have remained constant since the beginning. Though we faced no major challenges to sustain the business, they are struggling with monkey menace to keep the business protected. It has hired people to chase away the animals. According to rural municipality chair Ghanshyam Subedi, the group is producing the best variety of seeds throughout the Gandaki Province.
The group has been getting a 15 percent subsidy from the local government in the seeds production for the past four years. More, it has been awarded over Rs five million grants for the purchase of agricultural tools and training time and again.
More, the production of hybrid seeds is the priority of the local government. It has identified Arukharha-3 as a suitable zone for the production of maize of hybrid class and developed it as a pocket zone for the production of maize of ‘Manakamana-5’ variety.
The government has allocated the budget of Rs 2.5 million to promote commercial production in the area. The local government ensures a 15 percent subsidy in agricultural productions, according to rural municipality chair Ghanashyam Subedi. It has listed 25 agri-productions for the subsidy.
