Tulsipur (Dang), 18 March: Under the Prime Minister’s Agriculture Modernization Project (Maize Superzone), three crops of maize are cultivated in the Deukhuri area of Dang. Every year, winter, spring and rainy maize are cultivated in an area of 3,800 hectares. Among them, the majority of farmers cultivate spring maize.
According to Chandra Shobha Kandel, the project’s information officer, planting three crops results in an additional 32,000 metric tons of production. According to her, in the fiscal year 2080/81 alone, 32,894 metric tons of corn were produced. She said that production is increasing every year. In the fiscal year 2079/80, 26,455 metric tons of corn were produced. Rampur Hybrid-10 variety of corn is being planted in the Deukhuri area.
According to Information Officer Kandel, the production area is also increasing every year. In the fiscal year 2079/80, maize was cultivated on 3,700 hectares, while in the fiscal year 2080/81, maize was cultivated on 3,800 hectares. He said that the attraction of farmers to cultivate it every year is increasing. The office provides seeds to farmers at a 50 percent subsidy. Rampur Hybrid-10, Arun-2 and Rampur Composite varieties of maize are also being provided at a subsidy, so that maize is cultivated. The maize produced by farmers is sold in shops and feed industries, and since seed companies purchase the seeds, there is no problem in marketing, according to Information Officer Kandel.
Various technologies are being used for maize farming. According to the geographical structure, seed drills, bio planters and in some places tractors are used to sow maize and then rotavators are used. Maize is now being cultivated on land that was previously considered barren. This has increased the source of income for farmers, said Information Officer Kandel.
This is how maize is cultivated in Lamahi Municipality, Gadhawa, Rapti and Rajpur Rural Municipality of Dang. Barkhe maize is planted in Baisakh-Jeshtha, winter maize in Bhadau-Asoj and spring maize in Magh-Phalgun. The Maize Superzone Program has been operational in Dang since the fiscal year 2073/74 with the objective of establishing specialized areas for various crops and promoting production, value chain, modernization and commercialization. After the operation of the Superzone Program, maize production in Deukhuri has started to take a leap forward in terms of commercialization.
“There was a perception among farmers that maize cultivation was more prevalent in this region during the rainy season and that maize could only be cultivated during the rainy season,” said Information Officer Kandel. “First of all, it was necessary to change this mindset of farmers. For this, we have implemented the program by prioritizing winter and spring cultivation through the yield-based incentive subsidy program.”
Now, the farmers of Deukhuri have developed the practice of cultivating maize even in the winter and spring seasons. Custom hiring centers have been established and are operational in various places in the Deukhuri region. Through which, farmers are also cultivating by renting modern agricultural machinery for maize cultivation.
