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Betel nut farming is done in 4,054 hectares in five districts of Koshi Province. The annual production is around 15,000 tons. However, local farmers are facing difficulty in finding a market for their produce.

Local farmers say that they are not getting fair prices for their products. They say this leaves them with no option but to accept whatever prices are offered. While the government is encouraging farmers to invest in betel nut farming, they lament that the government is not doing the needful to find a market for their produce.

In the fiscal year 2022/23, Koshi Province produced 14,561 tons of betel nuts. But local farmers failed to secure a reasonable price for their crops.

Surendra Sah, who has been in the betel nut business for the past three decades in Arjundhara Municipality of Jhapa, blames government indifference for the farmers’ plight. “High-quality betel nuts are smuggled to India by middlemen. They then import nuts of inferior quality for distribution in Nepal,” Shah said. “Instead of promoting exports, the government appears to be encouraging betel nut imports. This has put the farmers in a precarious situation.”

Organizing a press conference recently, local farmers demanded that the government allow them to export betel nuts to buyers in third countries. They have threatened to launch protests if the government failed to address their concerns.

According to the Nepal Betel Nut Farmers Initiation Committee, over a million farmers are engaged in betel nut cultivation. They argue that the availability of imported betel nuts at low prices negatively affects local farmers’ income. Gita Prasad Adhikari, president of the committee, said that the local farmers should be allowed to sell betel nuts to buyers in third countries. “If our demands are not met, over a million farmers will take to the streets,” he warned.

Farmers face challenges

Dipendra Dhakal from Arjundhara-8, Jhapa, has betel nut plants covering all his land. His farm is located within the Betel Nuts Production Zone designated by the government. However, he faces difficulties when attempting to sell his produce in the market. Two years ago, security personnel harassed him, suspecting him of smuggling betel nuts. “The police demanded proof that these products were grown on my farm,” he recalled. “Betel nut production is good, and the demand in the market is also high. However, taking betel nuts to the market is a challenge.”

Due to such hassles, farmers like Dhakal often sell their betel nuts to buyers who approach their farms, even if the prices offered are low. Many of these buyers come from India.

Betel nut farming and trade in Nepal began before the 1990s. The trade centered in the bordering areas of Koshi Province. Indian traders used to come to Nepal to place orders for betel nuts grown in Nepal. But the situation has changed now. 

Kakarbhitta used to be the hub of betel nut trade in Nepal. There is still a street named ‘Supari (betel nut) Lane’ in Kakarbhitta. Today, betel nuts are no longer traded but are instead smuggled, according to locals.

Local residents claim that the government led by Baburam Bhattarai introduced stricter regulations for betel nut trade in January, 2011 by making certificate of origin mandatory for betel nut exports. Since then, Nepali farmers have been grappling with challenges.

According to the 1950 Treaty of Trade and Commerce between Nepal and India, Nepal cannot export goods imported from a third country to India. However, betel nuts imported from countries like Indonesia are being smuggled into India by Indian ‘couriers’ through routes like Mechi Bridge and the riverbanks.

The government initially tasked the Nepal Betel Nuts Farming Development Committee with issuing certificates of origin to betel nut farmers. However, a legal dispute over alleged discrepancies in the issuance of certificates led to a standstill in betel nut exports from Jhapa. Local farmers were left with unsold produce as traders exclusively focused on sending imported betel nuts to Indian markets.

“Traders are sending imported betel nuts to India, while our produce rots in warehouses due to a lack of buyers,” Radheshyam Neupane, a farmer from Arjundhara, lamented the situation.

Farmers in Jhapa insist that local production can meet domestic betel nut demand and are puzzled as to why the government allows betel nut imports. “Now that imports have been opened up, our betel nuts won’t find buyers,” Nilkanth Tiwari from the Betel Nut Zone in Jhapa said. Betel nuts, imported from third countries, are being smuggled into India from Nepal as the southern neighbor levies high import duty on betel nuts.

When the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area (KCA) was under the management of the government, conservation efforts weren’t very effective. Cases of poaching and felling of trees used to come to the police very often.

The situation has changed after the local community took over the management of KCA. The local people keep vigil on the forest, arrest poachers, and hand out punishments to them. This has resulted in a better forest and environment, and an increase in wildlife numbers, according to Khagendra Limbu, chairman of KCA Management Council.

“This is all because the local people themselves are the forest guards. People who used to poach wild animals in the past themselves are protecting the forests now. This is because people have realized that they will be safe as long as forests are safe,” he added. “Had this conservation area been under the management of the government, forests would have been destroyed, and wild animals poached.”

KCA was handed to the local community in Sept 2006, marking the first occasion when the local community was entrusted with the management of a protected area.

Surya Limbu, a local of Phaktanglung Rural Municipality within KCA, said local people have taken ownership of the forests and are protecting them. “Earlier, we used to fell trees for firewood and other purposes. Now, we are protecting the forests,” he added.

Chairman Limbu informed that it took a lot of time to educate the local people that they can become prosperous only by saving forests. “We formed different groups to educate local people on how they can benefit by protecting forests,” he added. “Now, they have realized the importance of forests and are working to protect this natural resource.”

Rabin Samra Limbu, the vice chairperson of Phaktanglung Rural Municipality, said local people now know that conservation efforts will become effective if the local community is involved. “Now people take care of forests because they have realized that they stand to benefit more by protecting forests,” he added. “When we were small, we saw the local people cutting trees. Today, they are protecting the forest as well as the wildlife.”

The creation of local units, however, has created some problems in conservation. “Some problems have been seen due to overlapping of the laws of the local unit and the management council. The government should look into this,” Samra Limbu added.

Conservation Office Ramesh Kumar Yadav said the conservation success of KCA has shown that the local community can be mobilized for the protection of forests in hilly areas. “The number of households in this region is very low, while the forest area is larger. The success in KCA has shown that the local community can be used for conservation,” said Yadav, who worked in KCA for over a year.

Lessons Learned 

Studies conducted prior to the handover of KCA to the local community indicated that conservation efforts would be more successful if the local community were involved. That’s why the government decided to pilot this approach by handing over KCA to the local community. However, KCA’s experience has not been replicated in other areas of the country yet.

Chairman Limbu suggested that the government can reduce its expenses on the protection of national parks, conservation areas, and other projects by entrusting them to the local community. “The government should learn from KCA how to protect natural resources. We have seen significant changes here in the past 17 years. People have realized that forests and natural resources are their own. This is a significant achievement,” he added.

The government has been allocating a budget of Rs 2.5m for conservation efforts in KCA. According to Chairman Limbu, the total budget of KCA, including the salary of government staff, is only around Rs 6-7m. “But the government is spending tens of millions of rupees on national parks and other conservation areas,” he said, adding, “If they could also be handed over to the local community, the government could save money, and conservation efforts would be more effective.”

No human-wildlife conflict

Incidents of human-wildlife conflict are often reported in other places. However, the situation is different in KCA. Locals here are not scared of wildlife, and vice versa. 

Chairman Limbu claims that KCA serves as an example of human-wildlife harmony. “There is no concern of wild animals being chased or killed here. Even when locals and tourists arrive, wildlife graze without any fear. This means that wild animals feel safe,” Limbu added.

Tashi Sherpa of Ghunsa village said poachers have stopped entering the forests after the local community took over the management of KCA. “Earlier, wild animals like blue sheep and deer used to run when they saw humans. Now, they don’t seem to be scared,” he added.

KCA is home to endangered wildlife species like snow leopards, musk deer, and red pandas, as well as hundreds of medicinal herbs. The KCA is home to Mt Kanchanjunga, the third highest peak in the world, as well as tens of other peaks and places of religious importance.