Surya Nepal’s Commitment to Tobacco Development in Rural Nepal
Despite the difficult agro-climatic conditions prevalent in Nepal, SNPL is committed to increasing tobacco cultivation and improving the yield and quality.
Surya Nepal’s focus on planned resourcing of technical expertise, good agronomic practices, pre/post harvesting techniques, fostering close linkage/counseling with the individual farmers, sponsoring regular training and development programmes and facilitating finance/inputs have contributed to increased yield from 900 kgs/ha to over 1500 kgs/ha.
Surya Nepal’s initiative in providing the latest technology at the farmers’ doorsteps through adoption of re-setted/tray seedlings methods, good crop establishment, uniformity and improved productivity/quality enhancement is now being progressively attained.
By extending material and financial support to construct curing sheds, the tobacco farmers today are able to protect their harvested crop from inclement weather and facilitate curing under suitable conditions to produce quality tobacco.
Today, Surya Nepal is the key player in the cigarette tobacco production in the country.
Surya Nepal's share is approximately 0.6 million kgs out of a total of approximately 0.7 million kgs of cigarette tobacco grown annually in the country.
Since tobacco cultivation remains a labour-intensive operation, unskilled labourers and women in rural areas, who otherwise would have little employment opportunities, now have a source of income.
Surya Nepal’s Leaf Development activities presently covers more than 2,000 farmers.
The socio-economic influence of tobacco farming extends beyond farm fields, i.e., tobacco buying, processing, warehousing, transportation, production and distribution centers, which all help create seasonal employment opportunities.
In just one season cycle, potential of direct employment through tobacco is more than 12,000 mandays.
With improvements established in quality of tobacco to meet international standards, in particular the inputs given to varieties like HDBRG and BURLEY, Surya Nepal is now geared up to enter the tobacco export market.
Apart from tobacco development, Surya Nepal is actively involved in various social activities through promotion of agro-forestry, health camps and school infrastructure development in the rural villages.
