Poorkhi Tekraj earns 1 million a year by selling vegetables

45-year-old Tekraj Tharu of Banke's Rapti Sonari Rural Municipality-5, Binauna Lalhi, spends his daily life with vegetables and caring for each other.

His source of income is farming. Many of Tekraj's friends have gone abroad for employment, some friends are wandering in Nepalgunj to work. He said that he never thought of leaving vegetable farming and getting a job.

My job is vegetable farming. I work here from morning till evening', Tekraj said, showing the vegetable farming he has done, 'I have been farming vegetables at my house. In some seasons, the income is better than expected, sometimes it is a little less.'

Tekraj also employs his family members in vegetable farming. He said that he earns around 10 to 12 lakh rupees annually, who has been making his living from vegetable farming.

He, who works daily in commercial vegetable farming, feels that he has got a better job in his own farm than abroad. In the past, he was doing subsistence farming, but for the last decade, he has been doing commercial vegetable farming. His fields look green all year round. His daily life is very busy as he cultivates seasonal and non-seasonal vegetables.

At present, vegetables such as cucumbers, gourds, parsley, chillies are being sold in his farm, while vegetables such as Ghiraunla, Torai, Gourd and Tarbhuj are being prepared.

The migration of young manpower abroad in search of employment is increasing. Tekraj has become a source of inspiration for the youth who go abroad because there is no possibility of employment in the country.

He said that the produced agricultural products are sold from home. If you have hard work and the will to work, you don't have to go abroad to earn money. There are possibilities here too. If you work hard, you can earn millions from barren land', Tekraj said, 'I don't think that you have to take a government job or go abroad to earn money.'

Tekraj is now producing seasonal and non-seasonal vegetables on the land that used to grow wheat and corn. The main source of income for the family is vegetable farming.

Seeing Tekraj's vegetable farming, now other farmers of Lalhi village are also attracted towards commercial vegetable farming. Madhu Tharu, another farmer, said that the young generation should get rid of the mentality that they have to go abroad for employment.

Rapti Sonari Rural Municipality has introduced a subsidy program to attract farmers towards bagarkheti. Chandakumari Shahi, head of the village agriculture branch, informed that there is a program to give subsidy up to five lakh rupees to the farmers who cultivate vegetables.

According to him, this year, an agreement has been reached with the Bagarkheti group of Lalhi Tekraj Tharu located in Rapti Sonari-5 Binauna and Bagarkheti farmer Man Bahadur Ranamar of Ward no.

Omprakash Devkota, the chief administrative officer of the rural municipality, said that a subsidy program was conducted to attract farmers towards bagar farming. He mentioned that the rural municipality will also take necessary steps to market the agricultural produce produced by farmers.