Bhirgaun of Dhankuta Municipality-2 is now becoming known as the main carrot production center in the eastern hills. In this village, where maize, millet and soybean are the main crops, carrots are now seen flourishing all over the fields. As carrot cultivation as a cash crop is flourishing, the income of farmers has increased and the economic activities of the village have also become dynamic.

About 600 farmer families in Bhirgaun are involved in carrot cultivation commercially. According to the ward office, carrots worth about Rs 30 million have reached the market from here since the month of Baisakh alone. Since there are two seasons of production in a year, nearly Rs 70 million worth of carrots are exported from Bhirgaun to various districts in a year, said Chandralal Tamang, ward chairman of Dhankuta Municipality-2.

Jagat Darlami Magar of Kintang has been cultivating carrots commercially for 12 years. He has been cultivating carrots for two seasons a year on 12 ropanis of land and producing about 400 quintals. This year, he sold carrots for Rs 30 to Rs 50 per kilo. 'The production is good, but the price is set by the traders in the market,' he said, 'Sometimes Rs 30, sometimes Rs 50. We have not been able to get a fair price for our produce, the price is also in the mouth of the traders.' Magar complained that he is forced to sell his produce at the price set by the traders.

He says that the people who used to cultivate maize have switched to carrot farming because of monkeys. 'If you plant maize, the monkeys will destroy everything. Irrigation is also not sufficient. I have chosen this farming because the risk is low and the income is good,' he said.

His neighbor Surya Bahadur Magar has also been cultivating carrots for a long time. They are among the farmers who produce a lot in Bhirgaun. Hundreds of farmers like them have now succeeded in earning a good income from carrot farming.

In Bhirgaun's Chokrok, Basnet Gaun, Kintang and other areas, carrots planted in Magh-Phalgun are produced in Jestha-Asar and carrots planted in the last part of Shrawan are produced in Mangsir-Push. This has given farmers the opportunity to earn twice a year.

According to Ward Chairman Tamang, in the fiscal year 2075/76, the ward office had declared pocket areas to expand carrot cultivation and distributed free seeds to farmers. 'The program started at that time has now been successful. Now the farmers themselves are enthusiastically expanding carrot cultivation,' he said.

He himself is also a commercial farmer. He has also received the President's Best Farmer Award for his contribution to the promotion of modern agriculture.

This year, the price of carrots had reached Rs 45 to 60 per kilogram. According to the ward office, a farmer family in Bhirgaun sells carrots for a minimum of Rs 50,000 to Rs 800,000.

According to farmers, the income from traditional maize, millet and soybeans used to be difficult to meet household expenses. Now carrot farming has increased cash income. They say that this has significantly helped in children's education, household expenses, purchase of agricultural inputs and improvement in living standards.

But farmers still say that government support is needed in fair prices, organized markets, moisture centers, storage and transportation systems. According to them, even though production has increased, it is sometimes difficult to recover costs due to lack of market management.