Following the shortage of chillies in the country last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, farmers in Samdrup Jongkhar started cultivating the spice on a larger scale this season. The yield is bountiful. But the market isn’t as promising as the yield.
Choten Namgay, a farmer in Rekhey cultivated chillies clearing half an acre of land last year. He hoped to earn some extra income for this family. But without many buyers, he claimed, the chillies are rotting in his fields. “I only take chillies to the market when the shopkeepers ask. But most times, they do not ask. They say they already have.”
The story is no different for the other farmers in the district.
“We are not getting enough customers. Although the production is good there is no buyer. With continuous rain, most of the chillies got spoiled. Villagers who harvested chillies early could fetch Nu 300 to Nu 500 per kilogram. But now, it is difficult to fetch even Nu 100 per kilogram,” said Zangmo, another farmer from Rekhey.
“Before we used to fetch Nu 200 to 300 for a kilogram of chilli. Now, we hardly get Nu 60,” said Choten Namgay.
Meanwhile, the dzongkhag agriculture office has facilitated and sold more than 2000 kilograms of chillies for 100 ngultrum per kilogram to Bhutan Agro-Industry in Monggar.
According to the district agriculture sector, more farmers in the district grew the spice on a larger scale this time. This has resulted in surplus production. In the past, vegetable vendors in Samdrup Jongkhar used to buy chillies from Trashi Yangtse and Monggar.
According to the district agriculture sector, the farmers in Samdrup Jongkhar cultivated chillies on more than 35 acres of land this season. Last year, the district produced about 50 thousand kilograms of chillies and the production is expected to increase this year.
Kinley Wangchuk, Samdrup Jongkhar
