Jhapa:Farmers engaged in the floriculture sector in Jhapa have urged the district administration to prohibit the import of flowers and instead support local production. A delegation of 20 farmers, led by Sushma Paudel, met with Chief District Officer Shrwan Kumar Pokharel to prioritize the promotion of domestically produced flowers and create a favorable market environment for local growers.
According to National News Agency RSS, the farmers presented a seven-point memorandum to the Chief District Officer, outlining their demands. They highlighted that marigold cultivation has been expanding in the district over the past few years; however, a significant portion of the market is dominated by flowers imported from India. Paudel emphasized that local production is sufficient to meet market demand.
Commercial marigold farming occurs on 15 to 20 hectares of land in the district, with key cultivation areas including Birtamod, Mechinagar, Bhadrapur, Damak, and Shivasatakshi. Despite this, farmers have faced losses due to the lack of a reliable market. The farmers expressed their dissatisfaction with the state’s failure to implement protective measures for the promotion and sustainability of floriculture.
The farmers’ demands include effective monitoring of borders and customs points to prevent unauthorized flower imports from India, the establishment of mechanisms to ensure fair prices and accessible markets for locally produced flowers, and the use of domestic flowers in government offices, schools, hotels, and various organizations. Additionally, they called for accurate data collection on floriculture to support long-term planning and for government intervention to protect domestic floriculture.