It has been just two years since he started a nursery to produce seedlings at his five kattha (1,690 sq m) of land by spending around Rs2.5 million.

Although he can’t sell seedlings due to lockdown, his ambition to expand hasn’t changed. “I have been struggling to fulfill the massive demand for seedlings ever since my nursery started producing them,” said Yadav. “ I am preparing to expand the nursery by investing Rs 3 milion in Birgunj as the city is well connected to the market.”

Yadav said although he hasn’t calculated his profit ratio, the numbers are good. “From one kg of papaya seeds, about 50,000 seedlings can be produced and I make a profit of Rs 10-15 per seedling.”

Agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors are some of the most profitable sectors in the country, according to a new analysis based on the National Economic Census conducted in 2018 by the Central Bureau of Statistics.

The study says that the annual profit ratio for 24,229 firms registered in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors stood at 55.7 percent, followed by education (46.1 percent), wholesale and retail sales and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (43 percent), and mining and quarrying (42.2 percent).