Fruit Orchard Program to Be Launched in Three Jumla Municipalities, Farmers to Receive 50 Percent Subsidy

Dragon Media Correspondent

A fruit orchard development program is set to be launched in three of Jumla’s eight local units during the current fiscal year.

The program will be implemented in Himali, Sinja and Kanakasundari rural municipalities under the Hill Nut and Fruit Development Project, which is being carried out in nine districts of Karnali Province.

According to Provincial Project Manager Chitra Bahadur Rokaya, the initiative will also be implemented in Banfikot, Musikot and Sanibheri of Rukum West; Siddhakumakh and Sharada of Salyan; Chhedagad and Junichande of Jajarkot; and Narayan, Aathbis and Chamunda Bindrasaini municipalities of Dailekh.

Similarly, the program will cover Narharinath and Shubhakalika of Kalikot, Soru and Khatyad of Mugu, Tanjakot and Adanchuli of Humla, and Mudkechula Rural Municipality of Dolpa.

Citrus fruits, walnuts and pecans will be prioritized in Rukum West, Salyan, Jajarkot and Dailekh. In Kalikot, Jumla, Mugu, Humla and Dolpa, priority will be given to apples, walnuts, almonds, kiwifruit and other suitable fruit crops.

Under the project’s 2083 implementation guidelines, farmers, agricultural groups, cooperatives and agribusiness entrepreneurs will be eligible for a 50 percent subsidy for orchard establishment.

The program aims to expand commercial fruit farming in Karnali’s hill and mountain regions, increase farmers’ incomes and promote local agricultural production.