Mekh Bahadur Thing, 40, of King Tole, Ward No. 1, Mahabharat Rural Municipality, who used to earn his living from staple crops like maize and millet, has now turned to coffee farming. He has planted 600 coffee trees.

He started planting coffee with 15/20 plants 20 years ago and expanded it to 500 plants. After distributing coffee plants to farmers in Mahabharat Rural Municipality as a subsidy, he has increased it to 600 plants by adding 100 more. He said that the farmers get double benefit as the municipality distributes free plants on the one hand and gives money as a subsidy to the farmers who plant the plants on the other.

He has experience that coffee can be more profitable than corn. ‘Earlier, when corn was planted, one bushel of corn would yield,’ he said, ‘That much corn was enough to eat and feed the animals, now coffee can earn up to 100,000 rupees a year.’ According to him, the coffee that the municipality has subsidized with 100 plants is expected to gradually start producing. This year, he estimates that he will earn more than 100,000 rupees from 120 kg of coffee. According to him, production from some coffee plants has only recently started.

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Yugant Thing, 30, of Lama Tol, Ward No. 6 of Mahabharat Rural Municipality, has been continuing the coffee farming that started 28 years ago. There are currently 1,200 coffee plants of Arabica and Bourbon varieties in his garden. According to him, 5/6 thousand cherries are produced annually and 2/3 thousand kg of coffee is sold after processing, from which he earns an annual income of 15 to 20 lakh rupees. Along with coffee, he has also been producing coffee seedlings. He has also been helping in the program where the municipality is distributing seedlings to farmers to promote coffee. He has also been informing farmers about the methods of planting coffee, from distributing coffee seedlings to planting coffee. According to him, good yields can be obtained from coffee. ‘You have to work hard for 2/3 years after planting,’ he said, ‘after that, if you take good care of it, you can earn a lot of income.’

To encourage coffee farming, the rural municipality has launched the ‘Whoever plants a coffee plant, a 20 rupee note’ ​​program, said the rural municipality chairman Kanchhalal Zimba. Regarding the program process, he said, ‘As informed about the program, the farmers had planted coffee plants, and only after the agricultural technician verifies that the plants have been planted, the farmers are given a subsidy.’

The rural municipality’s vice-chairman Sagar Moktan said that this special campaign was launched to make the rural municipality a pocket area for coffee. According to him, this is a program that the municipality mentioned in the policy and program in 2081/082 and approved by the agriculture department. The municipality has allocated a budget of 2 million for the program. The municipality has made a procedure to implement the program.

The agriculture branch of the municipality has stated that 443 farmers of Mahabharat Rural Municipality have benefited from this program. According to the head of the agriculture branch, Khim Bahadur Dangi, 49,900 coffee plants were distributed for the program. There are farmers who have planted a maximum of 600 plants throughout the municipality. Out of the 2 million rupees allocated for this program, 798,000 rupees have been distributed to farmers under the '20 rupee' subsidy, he said.

According to the agriculture branch, ward no. 5 of the rural municipality has become the main center of coffee production, and the rural municipality has declared these areas as 'coffee pockets', saying that there is potential in wards 2, 3 and 4 as well. The municipality has stated that the market for coffee produced in the Mahabharat region is currently the Netherlands and Japan. According to the municipality chairman, domestic and foreign traders will go to the farmers' fields to buy coffee.

According to him, recently there is both a demand and a market for coffee in the market. ‘Coffee is currently being sold for Rs 900 to Rs 1,000 per kg,’ he said, ‘There is competition among traders to buy farmers’ coffee.’ Farmers who produce good coffee here are earning up to Rs 1.5 million annually from coffee. The agriculture branch of the rural municipality has stated that 60 tons of coffee are produced annually in the municipality.

Grant to whoever produces it

The hilly areas of Kavre are now moving towards the bright future with the potential of coffee production. Along with Mahabharat Rural Municipality, Khanikhola Rural Municipality has also put forward various programs to attract farmers by prioritizing coffee farming. The rural municipality has been implementing the ‘Grant to whoever produces it’ program for the past three years and aims to increase farmers’ active participation in coffee farming.

Rural Municipality Chairman Indra Bahadur Thing said that under this program, farmers will receive direct subsidies based on the coffee they produce themselves. According to him, the program was launched with the aim of making the grant distribution process simple, transparent and farmer-friendly. He said that Khanikhola Rural Municipality is currently encouraging farmers through plant distribution, irrigation facilities, technology transfer, training and equipment support in areas with potential for coffee farming.

Like Mahabharat Rural Municipality, Khanikhola has also included coffee as a 'pocket crop', i.e. a crop to be developed with special priority. Currently, the municipality has prioritized coffee production, processing and marketing under the provincial government's 'One Ward, One Product' program.

As the demand for coffee is increasing in the international market, farmers are starting to focus on this crop, said Municipality Chairman Thing. According to him, some farmers have returned from abroad and started cultivating coffee in Nepal.

With the increasing attraction in coffee farming, the municipality also aims to start working towards market management and branding, said Municipality Chairman Thing. Programs are being conducted in collaboration from the local to the provincial level to make Kavre's coffee of high quality and competitive in the international market. Coffee farming has become not just a crop, but a means of rural development. Production-based subsidies and technology-friendly farming systems have increased the confidence of farmers. It is believed that Khanikhola and Mahabharat Rural Municipality of Kavre will now become coffee-producing and will create a distinct identity at the international level.

Bethanchok Rural Municipality has started a concessional loan program with the aim of making local farmers entrepreneurial and professional. The rural municipality has provided a 5 percent interest subsidy on loans targeting farmers operating agricultural businesses.

An agreement has been signed between Bethanchok Rural Municipality and the district cooperative for this. Residents within the municipality will be able to take loans of up to a maximum of Rs 2 million per household for operating agricultural and related businesses. The loan period will be a maximum of five years. Out of the total interest rate, the rural municipality will bear 5 percent of the interest as a subsidy, while the entrepreneur taking the loan will have to pay only 4 percent interest. According to the same arrangement, Bharat Timilsana of Bethanchok Rural Municipality Ward No. 2 has taken a loan from the municipality and expanded his animal husbandry business.

He runs the Aarti Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Farm, which has 3 buffaloes and 2 cows. He has taken a loan of Rs. 1.5 million from the municipality and has also made the farm systematic.

Bhagwan Adhikari, the chairman of the rural municipality, said that this program of the municipality has been brought with the aim of establishing Bethanchok as a self-reliant municipality in agriculture. Rajendra Bhandari, the chief administrative officer of the municipality, said that the municipality has allocated a budget of Rs. 5 million for this program.

Herb processing center in Bhumlu

The herb processing practice started in Dumre, Ward No. 8 of Bhumlu Rural Municipality, has shown new possibilities for income and employment at the local level. The rural municipality has brought the processing center into operation with the aim of increasing the income of farmers by producing and processing herbs commercially.

In the first phase, the rural municipality chairman Prem Bahadur Bhujel said that the oil has been extracted by processing medicinal bitter gourd. According to him, since the price of bitter gourd oil in the market is between 8 and 10 thousand rupees per liter, it is expected to attract farmers and local entrepreneurs.

The chairman said that the steam water used in the processing process can be used for medicinal purposes and the remaining residue can be used as organic fertilizer, so the herb processing is completely waste-free and environmentally friendly.

According to him, the rural municipality has put forward a plan to institutionalize herbal cultivation by utilizing barren land. Currently, thorny leaves, bay leaves and rosemary are being cultivated in an area of ​​40 ropani, and preparations are being made to expand production by providing seedlings to farmers. Along with thorny leaves, basil, lemon grass and dhasingare have been practiced in the herbal processing center. He said that the goal is to diversify production by adding various types of medicinal plants in the coming days. The municipality has also built a greenhouse to make herbal production sustainable, where necessary seedlings will be produced. This is expected to reduce dependence on purchasing seedlings from outside and strengthen the local production system.