For years, cardamom cultivation has been a lucrative income source for the farmers of Khangma Chiwog in Pema Gatshel’s Yurung Gewog. However, the yield has dropped considerably this year, leaving the farmers disheartened. The farmers attribute the drop in cardamom yield to unpredictable weather patterns.
With a moderate climate, cardamom usually bears good yields providing a valuable source of income for the farmers.
However, this year has been challenging for them as the cardamom yield has dropped significantly.
“This year the business is not good. We used to make good income in the past. I think the drop in production is due to less rainfall during the flowering season,” said Kezang Thinley, a farmer.
“The sun has affected the flowers. We could not harvest as we did in the past. We will keep cultivating but it’s disheartening,” said Sonam Tobgay, another farmer.
“Rainfall was less during the flowering season. So, I am expecting only half of last year’s harvest. As we depend solely on cardamom and maize, this has affected us significantly,” said Sonam Chezom, also a farmer.
“Last year, I harvested ten sacks of cardamom and some even got 20. But this year, I collected only three sacks while some had only four to five sacks,” said Kencho Wangdi, a farmer.
“Rain was minimal during flowering. But later, we had some rainfall that somewhat improved our yields. As a result, the plants have borne fruits as usual but the seeds are fewer this time,” said Thinley, a farmer.
Despite the challenges, the cardamom plants are healthy. The farmers remain hopeful for better times, considering the current low yield as a temporary setback.
With increasing demand for spice in both domestic and international markets, they anticipate fetching higher prices which may compensate for the lower yield.
“Last year, despite the low price due to the quantity, we earned something. This year too, we hope that if prices rise, we can somehow manage to earn a similar income,” said Thinley, a farmer.
“Although our yield is low, we would be happy if we could fetch better prices. Despite the healthy plants, the weather limited our yield this year. However, we are hoping for better yield next year,” said Kezang Thinley, a farmer.
More than 60 households in Khangma Chiwog cultivate cardamom in an area of over 30 acres.
Last year, the farmers harvested around five metric tonnes of cardamom worth Nu 2.5 M.
Thinley Dorji, Pema Gatshel
Edited by Sonam Pem
