Farmer Starts Commercial Dragon Fruit Farming in Kapilvastu

Kapilvastu. Applying the knowledge learned by watching agricultural technology-related content on social media, farmer Ramprasad Belbase of Naudihawa, Shivraj Municipality-5, has started commercial dragon fruit farming. He has already harvested fruit three times from the farming started about a year and a half ago on four kattha of land. Belbase said that the farming was started by purchasing 628 saplings from Ranibagiya of Rupandehi and planting four saplings each on 157 poles. He bought the saplings at a rate of Rs 160 per sapling. He said that since the saplings are not yet fully mature, it will take some time for the production to increase. "We have harvested fruit three times so far. We are preparing to harvest the fourth time. I expect production to increase significantly from next year," he said. Belbase said that there is no problem in selling dragon fruit as its market is good. According to him, it is currently being sold at Rs 400 per kilogram. He said that customers come to his house to buy the fruit after it is produced. Stating that he was attracted to new crops by getting information about farming from YouTube, Belbase considers the lack of irrigation as the main challenge for farming. He said that more technical knowledge is needed for disease and pest management. Although the climate of Chitwan is considered more suitable for dragon fruit cultivation, he said that good production can be obtained in Kapilvastu if managed properly. He has experience that managing the cultivation is a bit difficult due to the extreme heat in the district. The chief of the Agricultural Knowledge Center Kapilvastu, Ghanshyam Chaudhary, said that although there is no exact record of the area of dragon fruit cultivation in the district, small and scattered cultivation has started. He said that farmers are increasingly attracted to dragon fruit cultivation due to its commercial potential, good market, and attractive price. As farmers are getting attracted to new and high-income fruit farming along with traditional crops, dragon fruit cultivation is also showing potential for expansion in Kapilvastu.