By Belina Thapa

Lamjung, Jan. 30: A local of Laxmibazaar, Madhyanepal Municipality-7, Lamjung, Dibya Chandra Soti is busy looking after livestock these days.
Despite having bachelors’ degree certificate, Soti runs Midimkhola Agriculture and Livestock Farm in his village.
“I was in teaching profession for 10 years. I was a principal of a boarding school. I even tried to fly abroad for employment,” said Soti. “But my zeal to do something in my own land stopped me.”
Soti owns 22 Holstein and Jersey cows, among which 15 are milking, four are calves and remaining are in-calf cows. There are four local buffaloes, including two calves in Soti’s farm. Daily 80-100 liters milk is produced in his farm.
Soti said that the milk gets consumed in local markets from Damauli to Pokhara. One liter milk costs Rs. 80, he said. Soti has been in livestock and agriculture farming for over five years.
“Me along with three of my friends decided to open a farm while I was teaching in a boarding school,” Soti said. “For three years I managed farming during my spare time but as my friends didn’t give much priority to our business, I left teaching and started giving full time to livestock farming.”
Soti said that he had expanded the farm and started farming vegetables, fishes and livestock.
“I have been running unified agriculture farm by renting 60 ropanis of land for the tenure of 15 years,” he said. “Half of the land is being used to grow fodder for cows and buffaloes such as Napier grass, Stylo, Mollases, maize and so forth.”
Soti has constructed a pond in 10 Rropanis of the leased land to carry out fish farming. He had grown 20,000 fishes like Common carp, Rohi and Mrigal naini fish brought from Bhandara, Chitwan.
Soti said that he had sold 3000 kilograms fishes until now.
A fish grows to 1-1.5 kilograms in six months. He said that he had been selling one kilogram fish for Rs. 500 and had earned Rs. 150,000 from fish farming itself.
The fishes were sold in Gyaneshwor and Bhorletar Bazaar.
Vegetables like cauliflower, cabbage, bitter gourd and tomato farming were also done in Soti’s farm. He had been selling cabbages for Rs. 40 per kg and cauliflower for Rs. 80 per kg.
Soti earns Rs. 6,000 per day and Rs. 80, 000 per month by selling milk and Rs. 20-30,000 from fish and vegetable farming. “I earn Rs. 100,000 profit per month,” Soti said. He has invested Rs. 6 million in agriculture farming.
I started farming by taking loan from bank and acquaintances. Gandaki State government had granted Rs. 1 million to Soti for establishing a model farm.
He has invested the profits earned to expand his farm. Father Bisnu Dutta Soti, mother Rajyalakshmi Soti and wife Pabitra Gautam have been helping Soti in agriculture farming. He has employed five farmers by providing them Rs. 15,000 each month.