Potatoes grown in Mude, Sindhupalchok district are now sold under the brand name Mude’s Quality Potato.

The District Agricultural Office of Sindhupalchok granted the label to the district’s most famous product as part of its branding exercise.

This is the first product of the district that has been given a brand name.

Potatoes grown in Mude are packaged in 5-kg, 10-kg and 15-kg plastic and jute bags emblazoned with the brand name Mude’s Quality Potato and are dispatched to major cities across the country.

Potato is the major crop grown in the region, and around 95 percent of the households here are engaged in potato farming. It is said that the soil in the area is very appropriate for potato farming.

Mude lies at an elevation of 2,286 metres above sea level, and the potatoes grown at this high altitude are prized for their taste. This has led to high demand for Mude’s potatoes all over Nepal.

Retailers in various parts of the country are known to pass off ordinary local potatoes as the famous product from Mude. “We have found traders rubbing soil from Mude on potatoes brought from other areas to deceive customers,” said Hikmat Bahadur Shrestha, chief of the District Agricultural Office.

The primary aim of branding Mude’s potatoes is to eliminate such dishonest practices in the market, Shrestha said. “Branding has prevented customers from getting duped. Also, farmers are finding it easier to sell their harvests these days,” he added.

The Small Farmer Agricultural Cooperative is helping farmers of Mude to supply their products to the Kalimati Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Market in Kathmandu.

“After branding, around 100 tonnes of potatoes have been sold in the Capital,” said Makar Bahadur Tamang, chairman of the cooperative. “We are selling the potatoes at the wholesale rate of Rs36 per kg.”

There is high demand for these potatoes in other places like Barhabise, Khadichaur, Chautara and Lamosanghu too. Mude produces 1,000 tonnes of potato per year, according to the agricultural office.

Rojita, a type of potato produced in Mude, is considered to be very rare. Local farmers started producing this variety of potato after the Swiss government launched a scheme to distribute the seeds in the district.