People in the East are moving beyond traditional farming. Many are now embracing horticulture as a more profitable venture. In Wengkhar, Monggar, persimmon is emerging as a reliable income source alongside kiwi, Japanese pear and apple.
65-year-old Dema in Wengkhar village grows the fruit in her kitchen garden. She started receiving orders even before the fruits were properly ripe.
Dema sells a kilogram of persimmons for Nu 60 from her doorstep. She earned Nu 50,000 last year by selling the fruit. This season, she is expecting a little less as the fruit production is not as good.
“If we have a good yield this year, it will drop next year, and the cycle continues. Last year was good, enabling me to fetch over Nu 50,000. This year, I am expecting over Nu 20,000. I started growing persimmons in 2008 with 40 trees. An official from the ARDC, who is originally from Japan, advised us to grow the fruit. He said in the future it would benefit us, and it is indeed helping us. And later, the centre provided us free saplings to expand cultivation.”
Similarly, 36-year-old Shacha Wangmo in the same village is busy picking persimmon fruits. Her 30-decimal mixed fruits orchard is mostly filled with persimmon trees.
She began growing persimmon around three years ago. The community in Wengkhar grows Fuyu and Jiro varieties of persimmon, which are highly sought for their delicious and non-astringent characteristics.
Shacha earned around Nu 10,000 since her persimmon trees started fruiting last year.
“I did not attend any specific training on how to grow the fruit. All I have is some hands-on training from an opportunity where I to work with the Agriculture Research and Development Centre. It has been over three years since I started horticulture farming. I have persimmon, almond, apple, and kiwi among other fruits in my orchard.”
However, it is not always rainbows and butterflies. Growing the fruit comes with its own share of challenge. Birds and monkeys are the fruit growers’ worst nightmare. This time around they have to guard their crops from such intrusions.
“There is a bird called Pingulum in our local language, which is the main culprit, especially at this time of year when the fruits are almost ripe. Other birds also damage the fruit,” said Dema, Resident, Wengkhar, Monggar.
As people become more health and diet conscious, the demand for locally grown fruits has grown over the years, easing marketing issues for farmers.
With assistance from the ARDC Wengkhar and the million-fruit tree initiative, people in the east have found an additional source of livelihood in fruit farming.
Namgyel Wangchuk, Monggar
Edited by Phub Gyem
