Pipla Bhandari from ward 4 of Madi Municipality, around 70 km south of Chitwan, takes a backride in a small electric bike driven by her 70-year-old husband, Kul Prasad, to inspect fish ponds. She then feeds the fish—a routine she has followed for the past five years.

Bhandari owns 12 ponds, most of which are teeming with fish. She raises fish for the off-season which will be market-ready by the peak winter in January. This is when imports from India slacken, and the local market rates soar. She knows well how demand rises during the off-season.

At 62, Bhandari is not just a farmer, but a successful entrepreneur.

“I decided to become an entrepreneur at the age when others normally retire.”

Bhandari initially faced difficulties in traditional paddy farming.

Five years ago, she decided to switch to fish farming. Although her sons dug the ponds, they abandoned the project after it failed to generate enough income to meet their expectations.

The Bhandari couple then decided to take over.

“We asked our children for the land ownership certificate and visited a microcredit institution seeking a loan. Initially, they hesitated. They probably thought their investment would be ruined if we, an elderly couple, died.”

"Age doesn’t matter. It's very hard when you've done nothing else all your life,” Bhandari told the Post in early November.

The couple borrowed Rs5 million from Sana Kisan Bikas Laghubitta Bittiyasanstha, formerly known as Sana Kisan Bikas Bank, the microcredit institution, through Ayodhyapuri Women Small Farmers Agriculture Cooperatives, to expand the fish farm.

From 31 kattha [10,497.58 square metres] of land, she now operates ponds on 11 bigha [7.45 hectares]. “I earn Rs2 million annually. The annual business is Rs5 million,” she said. “My sons [one engineer and another contractor], who live in Chitwan, still call us to quit.”

“But we are generating income and are happy to be financially independent.”

These farmers' stories highlight the resilience and entrepreneurial spirit that drive success, even in adversity. Access to financial resources, determination, and innovation have empowered these individuals to transform their lives and inspire others in their communities.

Sita Dura, a 45-year-old farmer from a marginalised community in Bagai of Madi Municipality, earns Rs2 million annually from vegetable and goat farming.

With this income, she has sent her two children to Bharatpur for higher education.

Dura, who joined the agriculture cooperative eight years ago, has taken out a Rs600,000 loan to start commercial farming.

In the far-flung Kharkatta village of Madi, Chitwan, the Post also interviewed Ganga Bahadur Adhikari, who has turned goat farming into a thriving business. A father of six children—five daughters and a son—he recently sold goats worth Rs800,000 to Madi Municipality.

“I make around Rs1 million annually from goat sales, including the manure,” said Adhikari. He previously reared buffaloes using traditional methods but switched to goat rearing a few years ago.

“The key to my success was the training I received from veterinary doctors,” he added.

Adhikari initially borrowed Rs500,000 to start goat farming and later expanded his business with another Rs2.5 million loan.

He has Khari and Boer crossbred goats, known for their larger body size and faster growth. “These goats can grow up to 35 kg in a year,” he said.

In Majhthana village of Kaski, Breindra Thapa Magar, a returnee migrant worker, is a well-known figure for his commercial pig farm. He invested Rs3 million in the venture and employs three people.

In the same village, a remote hill station, Chandra Kanta Ghimire, another returnee migrant, owns 10 Murrah buffaloes. The 51-year-old farmer produces 50 litres of milk daily and sells it at Rs115 per litre, earning Rs147,000 monthly.

“I went to Saudi Arabia after paying Rs350,000 two decades ago,” he said. “I worked there for six years and earned 500 riyals, which was around Rs15,000 a month. “That was too little, as 250 riyals went towards food and rent.” After returning in 2006, he bought two buffaloes and started selling milk.

“The income wasn’t enough to support a family of five,” he said, adding that seven years ago he decided to take out a loan to expand his farming. He borrowed Rs200,000, but his appetite for loans grew. Eleven months ago, he took another Rs2.3 million loan and added more buffaloes. “I spent Rs600,000 to erect a shed and plan to add two more buffaloes this year.”

In Lahachowk, Kaski, Bhoj Bahadur Tamang, 33, another returnee, has leased 104 ropani [5.29 hectares] of land and is engaged in integrated farming. In 60 percent of the farm, grass is produced for goat rearing, while the remaining 40 percent is set aside for vegetables.

Tamang’s farm is entirely organic, with an insect trap net and proper irrigation system. He specialises in off-season vegetables, which fetches higher prices. He currently owns 58 goats after selling 50 earlier this year.

Tamang sells 3,000 kg of vegetables daily, 1,000 kg of which are leafy greens. In the past four years, he has taken out a Rs3.2 million loan and invested a total of Rs12 million. His annual sales hover around Rs5 million, with a net profit of Rs1.8 million.

Rising Feminisation in Agriculture

Male outmigration has markedly increased the feminisation of rural communities, with women increasingly taking farming responsibilities.

In 2011-12, only 19 percent of households in Nepal were female-headed, where an adult woman was the sole or primary income earner and decision-maker.

However, according to the latest agriculture census, female-headed households nearly doubled to 32.4 percent over the past decade. This equates to 1.33 million women heading households in Nepal.

The lure of foreign employment has led more men to abandon agricultural fields.

The shift has brought challenges and opportunities. Declining food production, partly due to young men’s reluctance to engage in agriculture, has exacerbated food security in Nepal.

"Traditionally, men led the farming sector, which was considered a man's world. But things are different now," says Purnamaya Adhikari Timilsina, manager of the Small Farmer Agriculture Cooperatives at Kathar, in ward 10 of Khairahani Municipality, to whom the Post met in November.

"Due to massive male migration, women have expanded their involvement in agriculture. Thanks to the availability of easy and hassle-free financial support, many women in our village have become entrepreneurs."

Her cooperative, which began with 47 members in 2004, now has 1,835 members—all women—and provides loans of up to Rs1.5 million.

“Many of our members have opened beauty parlours, invested in agriculture stores, undergone training to make sweaters and clothes, and explored other business ventures," Timilsina explains.

The Post met with several women entrepreneurs in the plains of southern Chitwan, where women are leading an extraordinary transformation.

One notable project is a rice mill, the first of its kind in Nepal, owned and operated entirely by women.

The mill began operations on March 30 last year with an investment of Rs50 million. Rs20 million was lent by Sana Kisan Bikas Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha.

This project is a prime example of how access to financial resources can empower women to become entrepreneurs.

The mill was established for a specific purpose. "With the absence of men, we took over agriculture. Selling paddy was difficult for us. We had to travel long distances to the market and often didn’t receive a fair price," explains Kamala Bhandari, one of the cooperative members.

Bhandari, who owns one bigha (6,772 sq. metres) of land, earns Rs150,000 annually from two paddy harvests—spring and summer.

"We sell our paddy to the mill, which pays us Rs100 extra per quintal compared to the minimum support price set by the government. Farmers no longer have to travel long distances to sell their paddy. The mill has truly become a boon for us," Bhandari said.

Just two years ago, paddy farmers had numerous complaints.

Due to the porous border between Nepal and India, the local market was flooded with cheap imported rice, leaving farmers without buyers and threatening the local rice industry.

When men migrated abroad, the influx of imported rice compounded women's difficulties, especially as farming became more labour-intensive and many women were forced to abandon their agricultural lands. This contributed to a decrease in food production.

In response to this crisis, the women’s group in Chitwan took action. They started a mill that buys paddy from local farmers, producing non-steam rice and preventing the collapse of the local rice market. Their collective mission is to promote locally sourced, fresh, and nutritious rice, effectively revitalising and protecting the local rice industry.