Khabara earning identity as Banana Village, 150 families engage in farming

Myagdi- A slope land with an east-north face, the historic Jyamrukkot lies on the top while the Kaligandaki River is at the bottom. Khabara village, part of Beni Municipality-2, is situated in the middle.

Until a few years ago, this area was covered by grass and thicket, but it has now been transformed by banana farming, which has become a primary source of income for around 150 families. Local farmer Narayan Sapkota said that the village generates an annual income of Rs 20 million from banana supplies.

According to local resident Jagat Ghimire, the first banana cultivation in Khabara began in 2057 BS. Three saplings of the Hajari variety were brought from Pokhara for this purpose. Now, 24 years later, banana farming has expanded to over 500 ropanis of land (one ropani is equivalent to 508.74 sq. meters), gradually establishing the village’s identity as ‘Kera Gaun’ or Banana Village.

Tejendra Bahadur Karki, a farmer from Khabara, has cultivated bananas on 23 ropanis of previously uncultivated land. He shares with the RSS that he makes an annual income of Rs 700,000 from banana production. “The entire village is now full of banana plantation after most families in the village started growing banana on the slope land which used to be left fallow, as it was unsuitable for growing crops since water and manure would not retain on the slope land,” Karki said.

According to him, the entire village looks attractive full of greenery due to the banana plantation and banana farming has become the locals’ main source of income. Twenty farmers, including leading farmers Yam Bahadur Ghimire, Jagat Ghimire, Prem Kunwar, Chandra Bahadur Karki, Shovit Sharma, Tejendra Karki have started banana farming in the village. Karki shared that more and more locals are gradually taking to banana cultivation instead of crop cultivation after the banana farming started flourishing and became the main source of income.

“There is no family in the village which has not cultivated banana on the slope land,” said another farmer Jagat Bahadur Ghimire. Yam Bahadur Karki, Beni municipality, ward no 2 chairperson, said the farmers in Khabara earn in the range of minimum Rs 30,000 to maximum Rs 1 million annually by selling bananas.

He said the farmers are attracted to commercial banana cultivation due to factors like suitable climate, environment, market access and good income. The banana varieties like Bais Nangre, Maldhunge, Dhusre, Chini, among others are grown in Khabara.