Production of mustard oilseed crop in Jhapa is estimated to increase this year. According to the Agriculture Knowledge Center, Jhapa, the production is expected to be higher than in the past due to the expansion of mustard farming areas.
Mustard farming has been expanded in 15 municipalities of the district. Among them, farmers of Haldibari, Kachankawal, Mechinagar, Kankai, Damak, and Gauradaha are more attracted towards mustard oilseed farming.
Jhapa is considered fertile for mustard cultivation in terms of climate. The use of pure edible oil has increased and hence commercial cultivation of mustard oilseed is also on the rise.
Gopal Timsina of Mechinagar-14 has been cultivating mustard commercially for the past two years. Before that, he used to buy oil from the market. He said that now he has been able to consume pure oil and earn a decent income after starting his own farm.
Shalikram Bhattarai, an agronomist at Krishi Gyan Kendra Jhapa, said that mustard is cultivated in an area of 6,000 hectares in the district in fiscal year 2021/22. He said that the attraction of farmers to mustard seed production has been increasing in the district for the last four years.
According to him, some financial cooperatives in the district have recently started cultivating mustard commercially. To encourage them, Agriculture Knowledge Center Jhapa has declared a mustard block area.
The center has also provided a grant of Rs 2.5 million to the cooperatives in Haldibari village municipality for two years. Bhattarai said that it was still necessary for the government to attract farmers by bringing additional incentive programs to make Jhapa self-reliant in mustard production.
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