Simkot – The youth of Hekpa village in Namkha Rural Municipality-1 have started commercial apple and walnut farming through land consolidation.

Instead of planting saplings on fragmented plots of land, the youth have consolidated their lands and initiated large-scale farming in a unified area.

Three youths, including Pasang Lama of Hekpa village, have started cultivating apples and walnuts on around 250 ropanis of land.

This farming was initiated last year. Separate plots have been allocated for apples and walnuts, and saplings have been planted accordingly. Currently, around 650 walnut saplings and 2,500 apple saplings are growing. These saplings were also produced locally within the same farm.

They mentioned that over 500 more saplings are in preparation and will be planted next year.

More than 95% of the planted saplings have taken root successfully. The land used for apple and walnut farming has been secured with fencing, irrigation systems, a caretaker, and even a guardhouse, which has made it possible to utilize previously barren land.

This effort has been made specifically for commercial farming. According to Bhakat Khadka, head of the Agriculture Development Office, the office has supported the Pramod Livestock, Agriculture, and Herbal Farm under the Land Consolidation Farming Promotion Program.

He stated that this farm has become one of the best apple and walnut farms in the district, with a large number of saplings being planted.

He informed that within three years, the apple and walnut trees will start bearing fruit. For this purpose, the office has already spent a budget of NPR 2.5 million, with additional budget allocation planned for this year.

A total of NPR 5.4 million has been spent on the farm, while the remaining amount has been personally invested by Lama's group.

A road has already been constructed near the farm, and it is also close to the Simkot-Hilsa section of the Karnali Corridor.