Road networks have now connected the far-flung Karnali region, providing hope to people, mostly apple farmers, who can now send their produce to the markets and get reasonable prices.

However, the poorly-constructed road networks have become a bane for the villagers. Whenever the crops become market-ready, disaster strikes.

Rural roads are often a lifeline for these communities, but they remain closed most of the time due to an increase in disasters, which experts attribute to climate change.

Now, some apple growers are discussing whether their harvests could be sent to bordering Tibetan cities, as roads are frequently damaged during the monsoon season at peak harvest time, halting supplies to the Nepali market.

“It would be a great relief for apple growers in Humla if they could export apples to the Chinese cities,” said Namgyal Tamang, former president of Humla Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

The apple farm in Dolpa covers 412 hectares. However, the district faces difficulties in sending the fruit to the market. Farmers complain that their apples often go to waste.

Last year, Dolpa produced 3,696 tonnes of apples, but only 50 tonnes made it to the market, according to Ganesh Adhikari, chief of the Agriculture Development Office, Dolpa.

“Roads are usually closed during the apple harvest, which is a big problem,” said Adhikari. “Many farmers store their apples using traditional methods. If the apples don’t decay, traders take them to markets like Nepalgunj and Surkhet.”

Adhikari said apple production has increased this season, with output reaching 4,000 tonnes.

In Simkot, the headquarters of Humla, apples have been planted on 518 hectares.

Last year, the district produced 4,224 tonnes of apples, but none reached the market. Although a road network reached Simikot in March this year, transportation is completely stalled in Humla leaving farmers unable to sell their fruits.

“The road has reached Simikot, but it has been three months since no vehicles have been operating. Some farmers use mules to transport apples, worried that the fruit will decay,” said Dasharath Rokaya, an apple farmer in ward 7 of Simkot rural municipality. “Shipping apples by air costs more than the fruit is worth,” he said.

Rokaya said that apples go to waste every year due to a lack of roads. His orchard, which spans 25 ropani (1.27 hectares), has 150 apple trees.

The cost to transport a kilo of apple from Humla to Nepalgunj by air is Rs130. And from Humla to Surkhet, it costs Rs120 per kg.

Nimayangjum Lama of Bargaun in ward 3 of Simkot rural municipality, has set up a storage using traditional methods to keep apples for a month. “Nobody comes to buy in bulk. Though I store the apples, half of them decay,” she said.

According to Lama, 25 big apple farms are operating in Simkot village. She said that apples are sent through flight only when the passenger takes them as gifts.

Currently, an apple fetches up to Rs10.

High quality apples produced in the upper reaches of Tilgufa municipality in Kalikot also go to waste.

“There is a bumper production this year, but there is no road to transport them,” bemoaned Dhan Bahadur Shahi, a local farmer of Chilkhaya in Kalikot. “The high transport costs are another issue that farmers say do not cover the cost of production.”

Last year, Shahi produced 42 tonnes of apples, but this season, output dropped to 30 tonnes as a hailstorm damaged the plants. His orchard has 500 apple trees.

Sending apples to the Tarai cities through the Karnali highway using porters costs Rs10 per kg.

In recent years, farmers in Phoimahadev, Chilkhaya, Rachuli, Jubitha, Chappre, Odanku of Mahabai, Gela, Mugraha of Subhakalika, Sukatiya, and Bharta of Kalikot have been engaged in commercial farming of apples.

Although vehicles can reach the village from Nagma and Rachuli Bazar during winter, roads are generally obstructed during the rainy season, causing many problems for the farmers, said Parek Bahadur Shahi, a farmer from Jubetha.

“Traders with their vehicles can reach farmers’ orchards in Jumla. If the road could operate round-the-year, all the apples could reach the market,” Parek said. “It is difficult for us to take our produce to the market, and on top of that, we don’t get fair prices for our products.”

He said the village's lack of cold storage, packaging, and grading facilities forces farmers to harvest apples before they ripen. “Apples are sold for Rs45 per kg in the village.”

Last year, 5,860 tonnes of apples were produced across 605 hectares in Kalikot.

According to statistics from the Karnali province’s Ministry of Land Management, Agriculture and Cooperatives, apple is being grown on 3,419 hectares across all districts of the province except Surkhet.

Last year, Karnali produced 31,000 tonnes of apples, and the production is expected to be around the same this year, said Dhan Bahadur Kathayet, spokesperson of the Land Management Ministry. He said storage problems, lack of grading, road access, and packaging contribute to the low market value of Karnali apples.

Farmers are currently selling apples for Rs50 per kg. In Surkhet, a kilo of apples costs Rs125, while in Kathmandu, it reaches Rs250, Kathayat said. “With the lack of well-managed marketing, farmers are getting less value for their product, while consumers are compelled to pay high prices. Only traders and middlemen benefit.”

Trucks carrying food and construction materials from Surkhet and Nepalgunj are returning with apples from Jumla, Mugu, and Kalikot.

Among other districts in Karnali, Jumla produces 12,500 tonnes of apples on 3,100 hectares.

While Jumla has long been renowned for its apples, the trend of commercial farming has been growing in recent years in the district.

Min Bahadur Bhandari from ward 5 of Guthichaur rural municipality in Jumla has invested Rs220 million in his apple farm, which has 48,000 plants. The orchard produced 80 tonnes of apples last year. He said traders are visiting his farm to buy apples.

Bhandari aims to produce 200 tonnes of apples this season.

Tanka Giri of ward 3 of Guthichaur has planted 14,000 apple trees on 22 hectares with an investment of Rs70 million. It has been two years since he started apple cultivation.

“There was no road in the past. When we couldn’t take those apples to the market, they were often fed to animals,” Giri said. “But now the demand for Jumla apples has reached international markets, and this has encouraged us to invest.”

“Roads have been obstructed frequently for years,” said Karna Bahadur Budhathoki, a trader from Jumla. “A single day of halt in the transportation can spoil apples worth hundreds and thousands of rupees.”

Budhathoki said that around 3 tonnes of apples that he purchased were spoiled. Currently, he is buying apples from farmers at Rs50 per kg. It costs an additional Rs20 per kg, which includes the cost of packaging the apples in cartons and transportation to Surkhet and Nepalgunj.