Agricultural Promotion Center to Link Humla’s Indigenous Crops with Markets

Dragon Media Correspondent

A High Impact Community Development Project has been launched in Sarkegad Rural Municipality of Humla to connect locally produced indigenous agricultural products with collection, processing, value addition and market access.

Under the project, which is being implemented with financial assistance from the Government of India, an agricultural produce promotion center will be constructed in Sarkegad Rural Municipality. A budget of Rs 81.14 million has been allocated for the project.

According to Sarkegad Rural Municipality Chair Than Bahadur Rokaya, Humla has considerable potential for indigenous crop production, but the lack of post-harvest collection, storage, processing and market management has remained a major challenge.

He said local farmers have often been unable to receive appropriate prices or reliable market access for their products, limiting their ability to move toward commercial agriculture. The proposed center is expected to help reduce the gap between production and the market.

The project will be implemented across Sarkegad Rural Municipality. Once operational, the center is expected to support systematic collection, storage, processing and marketing of local and indigenous agricultural products while promoting mechanization and the use of modern technology in agriculture.

Humla produces crops such as buckwheat, proso millet, foxtail millet, naked barley, barley, potatoes, beans and other traditional agricultural products. However, difficult geography, weak transport connectivity, limited processing facilities and high transportation costs have made it difficult for farmers to secure adequate returns from their production.

The promotion center is expected to reduce farmers’ dependence on selling products in raw form and help them obtain better prices through processing and value addition.

Rokaya said that if locally produced agricultural goods can be systematically collected, processed and connected to markets with added value, it would create a stronger foundation for making the agricultural sector more self-reliant and commercially sustainable.

The project also aims to increase the income of low-income and disadvantaged households while creating local employment and entrepreneurship opportunities.

Local processing and marketing are expected to increase the value of agricultural products, reduce losses during transportation and provide farmers with more reliable market access.

According to the rural municipality, the proposal for the project under the High Impact Community Development Project framework was submitted on Asoj 10, 2081 BS. Following its approval, the process of constructing the agricultural produce promotion center and implementing the project will now move forward.

By linking the conservation of indigenous crops with production, processing, employment and market access, the project is expected to help strengthen Humla’s local agricultural economy in the long term.