By Chandra Pandak
Taplejung, Nov. 4: Farmers in most parts of Taplejung have started cultivating millet.
The farmers who had stopped cultivating millet have now started cultivating it again. They had stopped the cultivation of millet due to lack of manpower and being unable to recover the investment of labour.
Lately, the farmers have been attracted to millet production after realising that it can be consumed as a food and they can make good income by selling the millet.
Farmers said that millet production will be better if the weather becomes favourable and fertiliser is made available.
Amar Bahadur Limbu, a local farmer of Sidingwa Gaunpalika-4, Sablakhu, said that the farmers of the village had started cultivating millet as it can be consumed as a medicinal food crop.
According to Limbu, the farmers who stopped growing millet a few years ago have now resumed millet farming.
Harkaman Limbu, another farmer of Sablakhu, said that the farmers of the village had started cultivating millet even though it requires more manpower than other corps.
According to Limbu, most of the farmers in the village have been cultivating millet as it does not require flat land and irrigation like paddy cultivation.
Limbu said that the price of millet has reached Rs. 200 per pathi (about 4 kg) due to limited production in the village.
He said that farmers have been forced to cultivate millet also due to continuous rise in it prices.
According to Tenzing Sherpa, a farmer of Meringden Municipality-2, Santhakra, almost all the villagers have been cultivating millet.
Apart from some of the 61 wards of the nine local levels of the district, farmers of most of the wards have been cultivating millet.
According to the Agriculture Knowledge Centre, Panchthar, Contact Office, Taplejung, millet is being cultivated in an area of 2,987 hectares in the district.
Sagar Bista, chief of the Agriculture Knowledge Centre, Panchthar, said that 4,182 metric tonnes of millet was produced from the same area last year.