Agri enterprise: engineer Lamichhane earns nearly 1.5 million a month from cattle farming, tree tomatoes change farmer's income

Kumar Lamichhane, a civil engineer from Gorkha who took up cattle and buffalo farming alongside his engineering career, now earns around 1.5 million rupees a month.

Lamichhane, from Khahare in Siranchok Rural Municipality-7, established Kshitiz Integrated Agriculture Farm Pvt. Ltd. in Jestha 2077 BS. The farm operates on 6 ropanis of land at Dandapauwa, Ramkot, in Ward 6 of Nagarjun Municipality, Kathmandu, which he has taken on rent for 100,000 rupees a month.

According to Lamichhane, about 100 million rupees have been invested in the farm. Starting with 30 buffaloes, his shed now holds 200 cows and 50 buffaloes. The business has also created employment for several people.

Meanwhile, in Tehrathum, Lakshmi Kumari Thapa Thakuri of Chhathar Rural Municipality-2 has planted around 1,500 tree tomato plants on 14-15 ropanis of land. She says about 450,000 rupees worth of tomatoes are sold in one season, with a single plant yielding 40 to 50 kilograms of tomatoes.

The farming began after monkeys, barking deer and other wild animals destroyed her earlier crops. Seeing her success, other farmers in the village have also begun growing tree tomatoes commercially.