NUWAKOT, JAN 10 -
Industry Minister Shankar Koirala has lauded the hard work and success achieved by strawberry farmers in Kakani, Nuwakot. Speaking at an interaction programme during a visit to the strawberry fields, Koirala praised the entrepreneurs for diversifying their products and exporting them to India.
Strawberry farming is being promoted by Micro Enterprise Development Programme (MEDEP) to support low-income families to grow the high value crop and improve their livelihoods.
Entrepreneurs say they produce strawberry worth Rs 50 million annually. In 2013, farmers of Okharpauwa and Hilevitta VDCs in Nuwakot grew 1.57 million kg of strawberries and earned Rs 15 million from exports to India.
Their products including fresh fruit, jam and jelly are being used by five-star hotels and are sold from outlets ranging from supermarkets to footpath stalls in Kathmandu. Door-to-door vendors in the capital also sell the products. In addition to sales of strawberry , sales of jam, jelly and candy made from the fruit amounted to Rs 1.4 million in 2013. Minister Koirala said this was an example of product diversification and market exploration at different levels. He added that the government had identified a few fruits in which Nepal could be self-sufficient this year. He added that next year’s budget was expected to identify strawberry as one such product.
“You have been selling your products across the border and contributing to the government’s efforts to reduce the trade deficit with India. We are trying to resolve issues of cross-border trade that will enable strawberries to be easily exported to India,” he told the entrepreneurs.
Likewise, Industry Secretary Krishna Gyawali said that strawberry was a very promising and profitable crop as it has a high return on investment of 80 percent and a very low breakeven point of 14 percent. He added that he would attempt to include strawberry in the One Village, One Product campaign.
Gyawali said: “As strawberry farming has been expanded to six other districts with MEDEP support, it brings bo-th challenges and opportunities to the farmers of Kakani, and you should continuously focus on improving quality”.
Source: ekantipur.com, Jan 10th 2014
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Industry Minister Shankar Koirala has lauded the hard work and success achieved by strawberry farmers in Kakani, Nuwakot. Speaking at an interaction programme during a visit to the strawberry fields, Koirala praised the entrepreneurs for diversifying their products and exporting them to India.
Strawberry farming is being promoted by Micro Enterprise Development Programme (MEDEP) to support low-income families to grow the high value crop and improve their livelihoods.
Entrepreneurs say they produce strawberry worth Rs 50 million annually. In 2013, farmers of Okharpauwa and Hilevitta VDCs in Nuwakot grew 1.57 million kg of strawberries and earned Rs 15 million from exports to India.
Their products including fresh fruit, jam and jelly are being used by five-star hotels and are sold from outlets ranging from supermarkets to footpath stalls in Kathmandu. Door-to-door vendors in the capital also sell the products. In addition to sales of strawberry , sales of jam, jelly and candy made from the fruit amounted to Rs 1.4 million in 2013. Minister Koirala said this was an example of product diversification and market exploration at different levels. He added that the government had identified a few fruits in which Nepal could be self-sufficient this year. He added that next year’s budget was expected to identify strawberry as one such product.
“You have been selling your products across the border and contributing to the government’s efforts to reduce the trade deficit with India. We are trying to resolve issues of cross-border trade that will enable strawberries to be easily exported to India,” he told the entrepreneurs.
Likewise, Industry Secretary Krishna Gyawali said that strawberry was a very promising and profitable crop as it has a high return on investment of 80 percent and a very low breakeven point of 14 percent. He added that he would attempt to include strawberry in the One Village, One Product campaign.
Gyawali said: “As strawberry farming has been expanded to six other districts with MEDEP support, it brings bo-th challenges and opportunities to the farmers of Kakani, and you should continuously focus on improving quality”.
Source: ekantipur.com, Jan 10th 2014
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