MYAGDI: Farmers in Histan Tikot, Annapurna Rural Municipality-7, have been earning over Rs 10 million annually by cultivating cabbage during the off-season.
Thanks to favorable geography and climate, good market prices, and income opportunities, residents of Paudhar have started growing cabbage in fields traditionally used for millet and maize during the rainy season.
Farmer and ward member of Annapurna-7, Buddhibir Pun, said most of the 100 families in Tikot are now engaged in cabbage cultivation. “Last year, we sold cabbage worth Rs 10 million,” he stated.
“This year, both production and income are expected to increase as more farmers join and more land is cultivated.” According to Pun, individual farmers earn between Rs 100,000 and Rs 700,000 from cabbage sales.
About three to four years ago, only five people, including Pun and Tika Paija, began growing cabbage in Tikot. Located at an altitude of 2,250 meters in the high mountains, Tikot has attracted farmers in recent years due to the profitable off-season cabbage market.
Farmer Manraj Garbuja shared that he started cabbage farming because it provides quicker and more reliable cash income compared to staple crops. “Last year, I sold cabbage worth Rs 100,000,” he said. “This year, I am cultivating cabbage on 14 ropanis as an alternative to millet and maize.”
Cabbage planted in June is harvested and sent to markets from the last week of July. Manraj explained that farmers stagger the harvest to continue sales until mid-August. Last year, cabbage sold for Rs 50 per kilogram.
Tikot farmers sell their produce in various markets, including Beni, Jomsom, Pokhara, and Baglung, according to farmer Tika Paija Pun. He added that the vegetables are grown organically without chemical fertilizers or pesticides, using decomposed cow dung and leaf mold as natural alternatives.
“Instead of chemical fertilizers, we make compost from cow dung and leaf mold,” he said. “Farmers are encouraged because these off-season organic vegetables find good markets and fair prices.”
Annapurna Rural Municipality has introduced the ‘Vegetable Pocket Program’ in Tikot under the Prime Minister’s Agriculture Modernization Project. Shyam Sharan Kurmi, the rural municipality’s agriculture officer, said the program provides seeds, farming tools, and insurance to farmers through grants.
He added that Rs 1.2 million has been allocated for the program this fiscal year, with an additional Rs 600,000 earmarked for Tikot’s Vegetable Pocket Program in the coming fiscal year.
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