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1: Apple tree in Marpha
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Picture
1: Apple tree in Marpha
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In the context of a project of the University of Gießen, Germany, we conducted a field study on apple farming in the village of Marpha, Nepal, in September 2000.
The main aim of our project was to find out about the impact and economic changes due to large scale apple farming introduced in the late 1960’s. We interviewed farmers about their economic situation, specific problems regarding apple farming and their future perspectives. Furthermore we talked to officials and other key-persons in Marpha itself and in the district headquarters of Jomsom.
With all the information we gathered during the two weeks we stayed in Marpha we came to the following results: Despite growing competition and crowding markets most apple farmers are still content with the profits they make. Especially climate conditions are very favourable for growing apples. Any kind of processing technique introduced by foreign aid projects like the solar dryer of the Technical University of Munich has been gratefully accepted, financially supported by the community and turned into profit by the farmers. The potential for innovation is generally high. We found that people do not sit back and wait for the government or foreign countries to help, but work hard and look for solutions themselves.
Many complaints were made though about missing transport facilities and lack of governmental support. Most Marphali apple farmers are in favour of the ambivalently discussed plans to build a road from Beni to Jomsom. Any kind of transport other than by porter and mule would lower their cost of transportation and so raise chances to compete with Indian and Chinese apples.
Nowadays Marpha has gained a reputation as the "village of apple orchards" attracting many tourists walking along the "apple pie trek".
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| Picture 2: Marpha village |
The village of Marpha is situated in the Kali Gandaki Valley of the Annapurna Conservation Area at an altitude of 2.650 m. The exact geographical location is 28°45' Northern latitude, 83°42' Eastern longitude. It lies in a very remote region. The next road starts in Beni (2 to 3 days by foot); the next big market is Pokhara (3 to 4 days by foot). Marpha is also accessible by plane; from the small airport in Jomsom (1 hour by foot) it takes only half an hour to Pokhara by plane.
When we first decided to do a project on apple farming in Marpha, we did not know what to expect. Except for what was told to us by Prof. Haffner of our department we could gather only very little information about Marpha and its surroundings. So the idea was to decide on concepts and methods when we had had a chance to get a rough picture of the situation.
Once in Marpha we got the impression that almost every household seemed to be engaged in apple farming to some extent. Also any literature we found in the village library stretched out the economic importance of apple production for the region. Thus we decided to conduct interviews with a small number of sample households participating in apple farming. The teachers of the secondary school of Marpha helped us to select families for the interviews. They chose them according to their financial and social status and the approximate number of apple trees they own.
Once we had worked out a set of questions which seemed on one hand precise enough to provide us with an overview of the farmers' financial situation without on the other hand invading their privacy, we were facing the next severe problem: How to talk to Nepalese families who mostly speak only little English while our Nepali did not reach further than two or three words? Fortunately, one of the teachers, Mr. Shalikram Lamichhne, spent many hours of his spare time translating for us. Without his and many other people's friendly help and advice our work would not have been possible. The families we interviewed were without exception friendly and helpful and answered our questions willingly even though it took them at least half an hour of their free or even working time.
In the following chapters we first specify the objectives of the project and methods used. In the following results part we present after a short history of apple farming in the Marpha region a variety of economical and social aspects connected to apple farming. Finally, sustainability of large scale apple farming is discussed in the conclusion.
As large scale apple production in the Marpha area was only introduced in the latter half of the 20th century, our main question was how apple farming had changed the economic situation of the people and how Marphali households - a former society of traders and small farmers - had adapted to new ideas and techniques involved. Not only growing conditions and skills concerning the production were of interest to us, but also the innovation potential of farmers and strategies used for marketing.
Furthermore, we wanted to check on the demand for apples from Marpha. Where are the major markets for apples, and how accessible are they for farmers and traders from Marpha?
Finally, we wanted to know if the creation of new economic activities had a positive influence on future perspectives for young people and could possibly help to prevent migration.
To meet our objectives we conducted semi-standardised interviews with nine selected households. The households were chosen with the help of the teachers according to the household’s economical situation and social status as well as the number of trees owned in order to provide us with a typical sample of the apple farmers in Marpha. The questionnaire we designed asked for pure figures as last year’s production rates, but also covered more general questions such as the role apples play for the household income, the farmers’ apple farming experience, their problems and hopes for the future. The questions were only a rough orientation for rather open interviews; we did not only get information on apple farming but also on other economical, social and cultural features. We always tried to talk to the head of the household, only in two cases this was not possible. The majority (six out of nine) of the interviews were held with the help of a translator. The translator, one of the schoolteachers, spoke to the people interviewed in Nepali, which is Nepal's official language, but not the original language of the Thakali region in which Marpha is situated.
Furthermore we interviewed key-persons like government officials in Jomsom, employees of the Horticulture Farm and the Agricultural Service Centre in Marpha, Marpha's social worker, etc. This we did without the help of a translator, so the quality of the information we got strongly varies. Figures regarding apple production given by HMG Nepal were only available on a regional basis and so did not meet our requirements of a village based study.
Also the study of literature on Marpha which we found in the village's library helped us to gain more information about the overall situation of the village, e.g. about ethnic and social structure, regional history, etc.
Before the 1960’s apples were already grown in Marpha for subsistence use. In 1966 the Horticultural Farm was established and introduced new varieties of apples and production methods to promote a transition of agriculture from subsistence towards cash crop farming. This took place in the context of the sudden end of the salt trade between Tibet and Nepal to provide new sources of income for the Thakali region.
Right from the beginning many farmers welcomed the idea of apple farming. Also climate and soil conditions proved to be favourable. Additionally apples are easy to store and can therefore be sold on the markets of Pokhara and Kathmandu in times when vegetables and fruits from other regions are scarce. Also increasing numbers of tourists in the last decades led to a new market for fresh apples and apple products, e.g. apple rings, brandy, apple pie, cider, etc.
For the above reasons production rates increased quickly, and already in the 1980s the market for apples seemed to be satisfied. The building of better storage facilities was promoted by an UNDP project. Other projects introduced small solar dryers for apple rings and other dried products. In 1994 the Technical University of Munich installed a big solar dryer and mechanical apple peelers. An apple press sponsored by foreign aid to produce apple juice on a countrywide scale was sent from Munich to Marpha but never reached its destination due to a shipwreck in the Indian Ocean.
Because of high transport costs for fresh apples it has always been hard to compete with Indian apples on the markets of Pokhara and Kathmandu. Recently competition on Nepalese markets got even more severe owing to of apple imports from China.
The cultivation of fruit trees requires specialist knowledge and skills. Like any other crop, apple trees demand a certain environment in regard to soils, temperature, temporal changes throughout the year, precipitation, etc.
Although almost all orchards need to be irrigated, conditions are very good in the Kali Gandaki Valley for the cultivation of fruit trees. Due to the rather rough climate and the altitude, parasites and phyto-diseases cause very few problems. The weather is usually favourable, with only strong wind or hail during blossoming time yielding losses of a greater scale.
Most farmers don't prune their trees themselves but employ skilled workers from the Horticulture Farm during the time of tree-trimming. The wages for these workers instil one of the greatest expenses for most apple farmers. The Horticulture Farm also offers courses in tree-trimming, but since most farmers own too many trees to prune themselves they employ trained people anyway.
Only three of the farmers named horticulture/apple trading as their major source of income, for one of them it is the only source of income. Many farmers rely on tourism in addition to their agricultural business. Owning lodges or restaurants or trading with goods, few make their living exclusively from agriculture and/or horticulture.
Also one has to bear in mind that refining processes increase the value of apples immensely. Hence selling fruit products like pies, dried apple, brandy etc. to tourists is probably the best manner to turn apples into a sustainable income. 38 % of all harvested apples in the sample households were processed last year. There are three distilleries in Marpha, one big solar apple dryer (TU Munich), various apple presses and small dryers. Most Marphalis produce their own jam, in the restaurants one can find a huge variety of fruit cakes.
| Marpha Apple | Chinese Apple | |
| Marpha | 10-15 rs/kg | - |
| Jomsom | 25 rs/kg | - |
| Pokhara | 40 rs/kg | 25 rs/kg |
Apples are sold in Marpha for 10-15 rs/kg (the price depends on the quality of the apple), in Jomsom prices are at 25 rs/kg.
Competition for fresh apples is high on the markets of Pokhara and Kathmandu due to imports of cheap apples from India and China (imports from the latter country started just recently and have resulted in even lower prices). Marpha apples are usually sold for 40 rs/kg in Pokhara, a Chinese apple costs only 25 rs/kg there. The high price for the local varieties cannot only be explained by the high quality of the Marpha apples, but also elevated transport costs have to be taken into account. These costs varied last year from approximately 10 - 15 rs/kg depending on the means of transport (porter/mule/helicopter).
All the farmers in the interviews stated poor and expensive transport facilities as their biggest problem. Some farmers expect help from the Nepali Government or foreign aid projects by financially supporting air transport of apples with 7 rs/kg. Others expressed their wish or hope that a road or a ropeway connecting the Kali Gandaki region to Pokhara will soon be built. Many of the farmers feel left alone by the Government which according to them has promoted apple production first but not helped with later marketing problems. Nevertheless, the market situation in Marpha itself and the neighbouring village of Jomsom can be seen in a very favourable light. Many fresh and processed apples on these local markets are sold to tourists. Also Pilgrims travelling to or from Mukthinat, inevitably passing through Marpha, create a demand for apples that is not to be underestimated. During their trek, apples provide a perfect "take-away" meal.
There seem to be not enough economic or other incentives for the young to stay in the village. According to official numbers given to us by the village's social worker, Mr. Bakhti Hirachan, only 250 (38 %) of a total population number of 650 live permanently in Marpha. After completing a higher education especially in the technological sector in the cities of Pokhara and Kathmandu, many of the young people do not return to take over their parents enterprises.
However, only some of the apple farmers interviewed stated migration in their own family as a severe problem. Only 13 % of household members in the sample families have permanently left Marpha, which seems a surprisingly low number. Due to the rather low number of households interviewed (nine out of 90) and as we do not know the total number of households engaged in apple farming it is thus hard to judge if there is a possible influence of apple farming on permanent migration.
Nevertheless, temporary migration during wintertime seems to have decreased over the last decades as apples helped to maintain the Marphalis' presence in the monetary circle. Only 3 % of household members in our sample still leave the village temporarily for business activities; one of the people interviewed told us this was no feature in his family since 1985.
Despite of marketing and transport difficulties we are of the opinion that profits derived from apple farming are a highly sufficient contribution to the Marphalis’ income. Formerly Thakali society mainly profited from the salt trade that came to an abrupt end in 1959. Apples as a cash crop have proved a means to fill in this economic gap, especially in combination with tourism which grew more and more important in the Annapurna region since the 1970’s. As a matter of fact many farmers have planted additional trees in recent years which shows their confidence in future improvements. They especially stressed the outstanding quality of the apples they produce.
The construction of a road leading from Pokhara to Jomsom is ambivalently discussed among the inhabitants of Marpha. On one hand, apple farmers would highly profit from the improvement of market access, on the other hand the valley is a traditional area for trekking and hiking and people fear that the region would cease to be attractive for tourists if it was accessible by road traffic. The fact that most Marphalis are working in both fields, tourism and apple farming, makes the discussion even more dynamic.
Nevertheless, we have come to a positive conclusion due to the following factors:
Finally, even though the idea of apple farming in an area as remote as Marpha has been target to many critical voices, we believe that the Marphali society has greatly profited by its production of apples. Marphalis have skilfully adapted their terms of production to tourist needs. Marpha is today known as the "village of apple orchards", the Jomsom trek also named the "apple pie trek". Apples have become an institution in Marpha.
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