With the spread of rotting disease, the farmers of Deling-Marpji Chiwog at Phuentshogling Gewog in Chhukha have reduced ginger cultivation in recent years. Farmers said the gingers are rotting in the fields affecting the production. Ginger has been one of the main cash crops for the villagers. Despite the setbacks, the farmers are fetching a good price for ginger this year.
People in Deling village popularly known as Chomchhey used to cultivate ginger on commercial scale.
Farmers said they used to cultivate the spice on around one acre of land but now they have reduced the cultivation to about 40 to 50 decimal of land.
In the past, more than 60 per cent of the villagers used to depend on ginger for their livelihoods. But it has been a few years since the disease affected the farmers.
“I think it was in 2016 when the disease started affecting the gingers here in the village. I think, after bringing ginger seedlings from Samtse the disease started spreading. Prior to this, a household used to produce about 15 to 20 quintals of ginger. But now, we are able to produce only about 4 or 5 quintals,” said Purna Bdr Ghalley, Deling-Marpji Tshogpa.
“Gingers started rotting with the disease and after that, the cultivation and production of ginger have decreased. And the situation has worsened after the arrival of the pandemic as we struggled to sell the gingers. We got low prices. This also led to the decline in ginger production,” said Ganesh Bdr, a farmer.
The Deling-Marpji Tshogpa added that this has affected the livelihoods of people.
“Earlier, people availed themselves of loans to invest in the cultivation of ginger. Now, people have been unable to repay the loans. With no options, people here, both literate and illiterate are now moving to urban areas for work, especially to Pasakha,” said Purna Bdr Ghalley, Deling-Marpji Tshogpa.
Meanwhile, according to the gewog agriculture office, the rotting disease spreads through soil and seedlings.
Officials added that the only way to control it is by planting ginger with good rhizome, practising crop rotation and avoiding cultivation in waterlogged soil.
Agriculture officials said they are planning to bring good ginger seedlings from other places.
Despite the low production, the villagers earned handsomely this year from the sale of the spice. They earned Nu 130 per kilogram compared to as low as Nu 25 in the past. The farmers sell their gingers in Phuentshogling town.
Kinley Dem, Phuentshogling
