WALING: Phedikhola Rural Municipality of Syanga district has decided to provide incentives to the farmers cultivating the land left untilled for two consecutive years.

The rural municipality brought such scheme last fiscal year to involve the youths in agriculture, said Chairperson Ghanashyam Subedi. Subedi further informed that a work procedure was brought to bring into the use the uncultivated land so that self-reliance on food would grow. Even the sale and distribution of surplus food would generate good income, he added.

ccording to him, 1,734 ropanis of such land was tilled last year involving 334 farmers. It produced the goods worth more than Rs 60 million. The incentive will continue for the cultivation of land this year too. The farmer willing to till the uncultivated land needs to fill up a form from concerned ward office, and produce landownership certificate, contract if it is given or taken in lease, and recommendation letter of the concerned ward office. Anyone willing to do farming should cultivate the land left unused for two consecutive years.

The rural municipality has encouraged the farmers by providing Rs 2,000 per ropani of land while Rs 2500 per ropani in the land taken in lease, said Chief Administrative Officer at rural municipality, Chiranjivi Baral. For growing rice, there should be minimum two ropanis of land while one ropani for millet, and legumes and vegetables.

There was some 6,000 ropanis of land left uncultivated in five wards of the rural municipality. Currently, 1,734 ropanis of such land is cultivated for cereals and legumes. There is encouraging participation of people in farming with incentives, Chairman Subedi claimed.