More farmers in most parts of the country are now growing cardamom as a cash crop. In Tsirang, the priced spice has become the bread and butter for the farmers of Dingrigang-Lhamoi-Loongm chiwog of Doonglagang Gewog. The chiwog has over 100 households and everyone grows cardamom as a source of livelihood. However, agriculture officials are warning farmers not to depend on a single cash crop.
29-year-old Phuentsho Namgay, originally from Trashigang, is one of the farmers growing cardamom in Dingrigang-Lhamoi-Loongm.
Phuentsho and his family settled in Tsirang in 2008. They own five acres of land and initially cultivated just maize. However, over the years, like the rest of the households, Phuentsho and his family also started growing cardamom.
And today, the family cultivates the spice on more than 4.5 acres of land and earns around Nu 500,000 when the harvest is bountiful.
“We grew maize after clearing the bushes when we first moved here in 2008. We even had to work in different places as daily wage earners. It was from 2013 onwards that we started growing cardamom. And now we are earning a decent income by selling the spice,” said Phuentsho.
Reliable markets and better prices have encouraged farmers to grow the spice. A kilogram of cardamom fetched between Nu 600 and 700 last season.
“For now, the harvest is good since cardamom plants are healthy without any infestation. We depend solely on cardamom for household expenses and to send our children to school,” said Yangjay, another cardamom grower in the chiwog.
“We also have plans to grow paddy and others crops along with cardamom but as of now, we don’t have irrigation water. But without irrigation water, we cannot grow paddy. So, at the moment, we depend heavily on cardamom for our livelihood,” said Karchung, another cardamom grower.
“We don’t have any other source of income. People have been able to build better houses and buy vehicles through the income from cardamom,” added Daza, whose family also grows cardamom as the main source of income.
The unusual snowfall in the area last year has affected some of the cardamom growers. The snowfall reportedly destroyed plants which would otherwise bear fruit this season.
“In the higher altitude, the snowfall last year has affected cardamom plants. So, due to that, we couldn’t harvest this season. Otherwise, we used to get a good income in the past,” said Yangchen Lhamo from Dingrigang-Lhamoi-Loongm.
As such, agriculture officials are warning farmers not to depend on a single cash crop for long. Agriculture Minister Yeshey Penjor said farmers could be left badly affected if they face damages due to natural disasters similar to the previous year.
“Depending on just one cash crop, the cardamom in Doonglagang is in its way a risky pursuance. There are multiple reasons why dependence on a single cash crop is risky. Firstly, as it, all RNR products are highly perishable and highly vulnerable to pests and disease. Also, there are so many calamities that can deteriorate the quality, deteriorate the quantity,” said the minister.
The minister added it is always advisable for farmers to do multi-cropping which is the practice of growing two or more crops on the same piece of land.
“Now the answer would be that they have limited land but in one piece of land, in one space, we can do multiple cropping. For example, cardamom which is ongoing can always go with the citrus plantation, lemon tree plantation, and even other horticulture. I mean something like avocado, very productive, and also generates good revenue. So, if there is a diversity of cash crops farming, when one degrades or when something goes wrong with one item, the other item would be helping the farmers to generate income in a year,” added the Minister.
Meanwhile, in Tsirang, without adequate water to grow other crops, Phuentsho Namgay and his fellow farmers are determined to continue cultivating cardamom.
Tsirang produced close to 200 metric tons of cardamom last year.
Pema Tshewang, Tsirang
Edited by Phub Gyem
