Kanchanpur, Oct 24: Janaklal Dagaura of Pipaladi, Shuklaphanta Municipality-3, has recently completed this season’s rice harvest. However, instead of taking a break, he is already busy planting garlic directly on the paddy stubble using a hoe, a method known as zero tillage farming.
Dagaura’s experience over the past few years shows that garlic cultivation using zero tillage method is more profitable than traditional tillage-based farming, as it yields higher production. He earns around Rs 90,000 per season from garlic farming.
In Pipaladi, many farmers have adopted garlic as a cash crop. Each family engaged in garlic cultivation under the zero tillage method plants garlic on one to five katthas of land (one kattha is 3,645 square feet). The yield from one kattha of land is around two quintals, and the market price during the season ranges from Rs 300 to Rs 500 per kilogram.
According to Binay Raj Joshi, Agriculture Development Officer at the Municipality’s Agriculture Section, farmers are increasingly attracted to zero tillage garlic farming because it eliminates the need for plowing, reduces production costs, and helps maintain soil quality.
