The government has set up an Orange Zone Implementation Unit in Khalanga, Jajarkot in a bid to raise production of the citrus fruit. Jajarkot is a district in Province 6 in mid-western Nepal.

The unit has been established as part of the 10-year Prime Minister Agriculture Modernisation Project, which envisages adopting modern farm techniques to boost productivity and making the country self-reliant in foods.

Damdala, Dhime and Archani of Kushe Rural Municipality; Timile, Pokhara and Dinga of Bheri Municipality and Tatta and Karuwa of Nalgadh Municipality—the orange pocket areas in the district—have been integrated to form the orange zone.

Tanka Prasad Rijal, senior agriculture officer, said that the zone had been established to increase orange production by adopting commercial farming techniques. To meet these objectives, the unit plans to make use of improved varieties of seeds, protect the plants from pests and diseases, use modern agricultural equipment, raise farmers’ access to market and encourage more people to adopt orange farming.

Also, training will be provided to different farmers’ groups and agricultural cooperatives will be established. Focus will also be laid on establishing high-tech nurseries, developing small irrigation projects, making modern agricultural equipment available to farmers, providing various services at affordable prices, opening grading and packaging units and constructing storage units.

The project also aims to retain youths by luring them into entering the farm sector, Rijal said. The project will be started by this fiscal year. The government has created 2,100 pocket areas of 10 hectares each, 150 blocks of 100 hectares each, 30 zones of 500 hectares each and seven super zones of 1,000 hectares each across the country to boost farm production. The agriculture modernization project was started in the last fiscal year.

The government has targeted becoming self-sufficient in maize and fish by three years and in fruits like bananas, papaya and litchi by four years. The plan envisages becoming self-sufficient in fruits like kiwi, apple and orange.

The pocket areas will get subsidised fertilisers and irrigation facilities besides technical support. Easy availability of seeds and saplings will be ensured.

Farmers in the blocks, zones and super zones will receive additional benefits including an 85 percent subsidy on the construction of agro production collection centres, warehouses, haat bazaars and processing and training centres. Rijal said that the project had identified Gorkha, Syangja and Jajarkot districts for the establishment of orange zones.