MYAGDI: The farmers of Myagdi district have generated over Rs 210 million this year through the sale of oranges, the main agricultural produce of the region.

According to the Agriculture Knowledge Centre in Myagdi, the sale of 3,600 metric tonnes of oranges produced in the district this year has amounted to a turnover of Rs 216 million.

Samjhana Acharya, Information Officer of the Centre, reported that oranges worth Rs 170 million were produced and sold last year. Oranges are typically sold at rates ranging from Rs 55 to Rs 60 per kilogram.

Beni Municipality recorded the highest sales, with oranges worth Rs 33.8 million, followed by Malika Rural Municipality at Rs 13.6 million, and Annapurna Rural Municipality and Mangala Rural Municipality, each exporting oranges worth Rs 13 million.

Dhawalagiri Rural Municipality and Raghuganga also contributed significantly, exporting oranges worth Rs 3.07 million and Rs 2.5 million, respectively.

Additionally, oranges worth Rs 22 million were sold from Bhakimli, Marek, and Rakhu area of Beni Municipality-3 alone, while oranges worth Rs 11 million were sold from Thamdanda, Baskuna, and Surkemela in Singa of the Municipality’s Ward No. 4, as reported by Sandip Khatri, the ward chairperson and an orange farmer.

Sanjeev Bastola, Chief of AKC Myagdi, noted that out of the 810 hectares of land dedicated to orange cultivation in Myagdi, only 420 hectares yielded a good harvest.

“The productivity of oranges is 8.6 metric tonnes per hectare,” he stated, attributing the increased production to favorable weather conditions, effective disease and insect control measures, subsidies provided to farmers, and the expansion of cultivated areas.