Jaleshwor, Feb 14: The farmers of Mahottari Rural Municipality-6 have uplifted their livelihood by making good income from tobacco farming. They said that the tobacco farming is less labour intensive and cost effective.
In the recent years, the farmers here have switched to tobacco farming from paddy due to lack of irrigation supplies and crisis in seeds and fertilizers.
Ramjivan Saha, a farmer from the village, said most of the farmers there have switched to tobacco farming citing limited income and intensive labour in paddy production.
He shared that almost 40 per cent of the arable land in the village is covered with tobacco farming adding that more than 50 households there have done tobacco farming in more than 50 bighas of land plots.
The farmers shared that income from tobacco farming is three times higher than from paddy production. Farmer Ram Ekwal Saha said the tobacco produced here is sold at the rate of Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500 per kilogram based on its quality.
Indian traders are the buyers of the tobacco from the local market in Mahottari.
Mohan Mandal, a local farmer, said around two quintals of tobacco is produced in one kathha of land and the farmers cold earn minimum of Rs 200,000 annually.
