GANDAKI: The demand for apples grown in Mustang district, a pocket area for apple production in the country, has increased sharply in recent years in Pokhara and the cities around.
As per the estimation, Pokhara consumes around 90 per cent of the apples produced in Mustang district. About 10 per cent of apple produced in Mustang is consumed within the district.
Moreover, Mustang apple has gained popularity among the folks here as it has become a token for souvenirs among the visitors too.
Owner of Tukuche Apple Nursery Rajan Sherpa said there is no shortage of market for apples grown in Mustang adding that "The contractors buy the Mustang apple in retail price if its production was made".
The farmers shared that production has increased in recent years after the adoption of innovative technology under the programme of High-Density Apple Nursery.
"We have planted the plants of high-density class brought from the Netherlands. The plants are planted to Upper Dolpa, Rukum, Rolpa and other areas too," Sherpa said adding that every year almost 18,000 plants have been distributed.
Starting in 2022 BS, apple farming has then increased in the district, benefitting a large number of households.
Chief of Agriculture Knowledge Centre, Mustang, Rajesh Gurung, said farmers' attraction to growing apples has increased and its farming is done on 890 hectares of land.
Gurung was of the view that apple farming is expanded even in the Upper Mustang due to rising temperatures.
However, the farmers have very limited interest in buckwheat, barley and other local goods' production due to their attraction to apple production, farmer Niraj Thakali from Thini village said.
"The farmers are attracted to the high-yielding and profitable goods also due to limited land in the mountainous region," Thakali argued.
The farmers sold per kilogram of apple at Rs 150 from their nursery and the demand for Mustang apples is further growing but the production is limited, Thakali stated.
