Cucumber seeds of the 'Madhu' variety will be sold at Rs 15,000 per kilogram and pumpkin seeds of the 'Sirjana' variety will be sold at Rs 105,000 per kilogram.
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Hybrid seed production of cucumber and tomato has been started in Dadeldhura in the far west. The ‘Vegetable Germplasm Enhancement and Seed Production Center’ located in Amargadhi Municipality-3 of Dadeldhura has started producing hybrid seeds since last year. This has helped to make farmers self-reliant and provide improved seeds at the local level.
Established in 2043 BS, this center is the only government seed production center in the Far West. In the initial years, this center focused on original seed production, but in recent years it has moved towards hybrid seed production. Now the center has started producing hybrid seeds of tomatoes and cucumbers.
This is a great enthusiasm among local farmers. The obligation to buy seeds from other provinces or abroad at high prices has been removed. Farmers have expressed confidence that once quality seeds are available in their own district, farming costs will decrease and production will increase. Hybrid seeds are expected to give good yields and facilitate the production of off-season vegetables.
Local farmers have expressed happiness over the start of hybrid seed production in their own district. Farmer Prince Raj Awasthi said that the hybrid seeds produced here will yield returns. He, who is also an agricultural technician, said that the hybrid seeds produced here will give good yields from the Terai to the mid-hills.
Ajaymeru farmer Tekraj Pathak said that the soil and climate of Dadeldhura are very suitable for hybrid seed production. ‘Local seeds here have given good returns,’ he said, ‘Farmers should also give priority to locally produced seeds.’
Similarly, Ganyapadhura commercial farmer Prasad Dutta Awasthi said that the cost of production has come down after local farmers started getting cheap and reliable seeds from the center. Earlier, seeds imported from India and other places were expensive, but now hybrid seeds produced in their own district are comparatively cheaper.
The center’s head Tarisingh Thakurathi said that encouraging results have been achieved in the initial stage of cucumber and tomato seed production. Last year, although there was no targeted plan, the center succeeded in producing five and a half kilos of ‘Sirjana’ variety of tomato seeds and four kilos of ‘Madhu’ variety of cucumber seeds on its own initiative as a trial. The sale and distribution process of these seeds is currently underway. According to Thakurathi, the planting of vegetable seeds in the hilly areas will start from the month of Magh, so the seeds currently produced are being prepared for that season. The center has said that the price of hybrid seeds of the 'Madhu' variety of cucumber and hybrid seeds of the 'Sirjana' variety of cauliflower is Rs 15,000 per kg. According to Thakurathi, the demand for hybrid seeds is increasing among farmers as they yield more than the original seeds. The center is currently promoting hybrid seed production regularly. In this context, he said that there is a plan to expand the production of hybrid seeds of cucumber, cauliflower and pepper from next year with the help of technicians from the Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC). The Dadeldhura Agricultural Knowledge Center has also considered this seed production as an important achievement. According to Ramsingh Bohara, Information Officer of the Agricultural Knowledge Center, preparations are underway to use the hybrid seeds produced by the center for testing in the first phase under its own supervision. He informed that there is a plan to distribute them to farmers as a subsidy after the test results are positive. According to the Agricultural Knowledge Center, these seeds will be distributed as a subsidy through various farmer groups and cooperative organizations from next year. 
