Orange now takes a back seat. Cardamom has become the next cash crop for the farmers of Pema Gatshel. They started growing the spice in 2014. The highest number of growers are in Khangma chiwog. Some hundred households are into cardamom cultivation.
Cardamom plants have replaced orange trees in Khangma in Pema Gatshel. Citrus greening spread by a disease-infected insect wiped out the orange trees.
Farmers are today harvesting the cardamom. The yield has been good every year. And it is even better this time.
“The yield increased last year and I am hoping to harvest more this year,” said Ugyen Dorji, a farmer from Yurung Gewog in Pema Gatshel.
Another farmer, Mindu Wangdi said “We are able to harvest more every year. Weeding is important. Growing cardamom is better than other crops because we can earn more cash.”
A kilogram of cardamom fetches a minimum of Nu 350.
Pema Gatshel harvested more than 22,000 kilograms or about two truckloads of cardamom last year and Khangma chiwog alone contributed nearly half of it.
Amid the pandemic, there is no problem in marketing. Buyers come to the village to collect the produce. And the farmers are enjoying the benefits from the new cash cow.
Thinley Dorji, Pema Gatshel
Edited by Tandin Phuntsho
