GULMI: Strong winds accompanied by rain have damaged tomato farming in Thulolumpek of Satyawati Rural Municipality-3, Gulmi. Of around 400 plastic tunnels used for commercial vegetable farming, 80 have been damaged.
According to Jit Bahadur Tramu Magar, ward chairman of Satyawati Rural Municipality-3, the damage occurred after strong winds tore the plastic covering of the tunnels. Farmers in the area grow tomatoes, cabbage, cauliflower, beans, cucumbers, capsicum, bitter gourd and other vegetables in the tunnels.
Farmers said each tunnel produces around four to five quintals of tomatoes. Tomatoes and other vegetables were damaged after the plastic coverings were torn. Thulolumpek is one of the major tomato-producing areas in the district, with vegetables produced there being supplied to local markets as well as Butwal.
Ward Chairman Magar said that although there is high demand for tomatoes in the market, production has recently fallen short of demand. Tomatoes worth more than Rs. 800,000 were damaged by the storm, he said. Tomatoes are currently sold for Rs. 50 to Rs. 60 per kilogram in the local market and Rs. 35 to Rs. 40 per kilogram in bulk.
According to Magar, farmers including Indra Bishwakarma, Lilas Rahady, Hemraj Thapa, Moti Prasad Shree and Chetman Rahady have been engaged in commercial vegetable farming in Thulolumpek.
Farmers have also been facing difficulties in transporting their produce to markets due to road blockages during the rainy season. They are currently using an alternative route that takes about an hour to reach the collection center.
To help farmers overcome market access problems, Satyawati Rural Municipality has rented a shutter at the Agricultural Produce and Vegetable Wholesale Sales Center in Butwal and has been facilitating the sale of vegetables there.
Rural Municipality Chairman Tikaram Pandey said the local government has been paying the shutter rent and arranging vegetable sales for the past three years.
He said the rural municipality has also been providing production-based subsidies to encourage farmers to become self-reliant in vegetable production. Under the scheme, farmers receive an incentive of Rs. 2 per kilogram of produce, while the groups managing the farmers receive Rs. 20 per quintal, Chairman Pandey said.
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