Farmers of Bjimichu village in Chhukha are upset with the chilli production this time. After a good harvest last year, they expanded their farm operations, with hopes of another profitable season. But the outcome this time is not what they expected.
The people of Bjimichu under Bongo Gewog started growing chillies in 2020. In August, they planted chilli saplings in an acre of farmland. The yield was good. The farmers harvested almost 700 kilograms of chillies during the winter. The price also averaged around Nu 250 per kilogram.
Happy with the results, the farmers decided to grow more. They planted chilli saplings on around ten acres last year. Unfortunately, the production this time declined.
“We don’t know if there is something wrong with the saplings or if it’s something else. I even used various kinds of manure. The production is very low. Last year, I was able to harvest at least 300 grams of chillies from a single plant,” said Chencho Thinley, a farmer in Bjimichu.
“Ginger grows well here but the income is better from Chilli. It is disheartening because of the poor production this year. With all the hard work we put in, we feel sad,” said Wangden, another farmer.
“Last year, I grew chilli only in this small portion of land. Yet, I could harvest over 200 kilograms. I ate chillies from here for four months then. This year, the plants are drying out and I couldn’t harvest anything. I couldn’t even recover the labour cost,” said Choki.
So far, the farmers have harvested only about 600 kilograms of chillies. Although they can continue to harvest for a few more months, it is not expected to make much difference.
The farmers say the leaves of the chilli plants turned yellow and suspect an outbreak of some disease.
A team from the Agriculture and Research Centre under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests visited the site and collected some samples. The results showed that the plants have been affected by a fungus. The centre is carrying out further research. Officials recommend using a fungicide for the disease and are planning to give training to the farmers before the next transplantation.
Currently, a kilogram of chilli costs between Nu 300 and 350 in the market.
Sonam Penjor, Chhukha
