Green chillies from Chhaling_Dhopang chiwog in Monggar have hit the local market. However, the farmers are disappointed with the low price this year.
“We grow more chilli every year hoping the price will be better. But that’s not happening,” says a farmer.
Farmers say they fetched as high as Nu 400 per kilogram for chillies last year. But this year the price has dropped by almost half.
The decline in price is mainly attributed to the availability of green chillies from Trashi Yangtse and other neighbouring places in the local markets.
The disappointment by low price is further aggravated by a discouraging yield.
“Chilli saplings wilted due to a disease. We tried spraying pesticides to control but were not effective. Our gewog’s Agriculture Extension Supervisor also told us to uproot the affected plants and dump it. He asked us not to feed it to the cattle. So far, whatever measures we tried have been futile,” Sangay Lhamo from Dopang, said.
“We cannot do much to prevent it although he gave us some kind of chemical to control it from spreading it further. But, it did not help,” Sangay Dorji, also from Dopang, said.
Some farmers are worried the harvest may not be enough even for their own consumption.
The gewog’s agriculture extension supervisor said a viral disease affected the plants and there is no cure for it. Uprooting the infected plants and spraying chemicals are the only possible options to control the disease from spreading.
Besides maize, chilli is one of the main sources of income for the farmers of Chhaling_Dopang chiwog.
On average, each farmer earns close to Nu 100,000 every season from chillies.
