While farmers in some parts of the country are shifting from growing orange to other cash crops due to citrus greening disease, farmers of Berdungma village in Trashigang continue to rely on the fruit for their livelihood. For many households, orange remains the main source of income. Berdungma is one of the most remote villages in Thrimshing Gewog.
The orange harvesting season may be over, but work in the orchards continues.
Farmers are now clearing bushes around the trees, applying manure, and preparing their orchards for the next fruiting season.
These efforts, villagers say, help ensure better yield when the next harvest arrives.
Although villagers have been growing oranges for more than a decade, they started focusing more on orange cultivation around five years ago after they began earning good income.
Today, on average, each household owns around 100 orange trees. Some families manage more than 400 trees, earning over a hundred thousand ngultrum annually from the fruit.
Thinley Wangdi from Berdungma said, “Every year, we plant new orange saplings because oranges have become an important source of income for us. Earlier, we used to cultivate potatoes but now it is not growing well here. Most farmers earn between Nu 100,000 and Nu 200,000 a year from oranges, and a few farmers even earned more than Nu 300,000 last year.”
Likewise, Dorji Dema said, “Compared to earlier, we are earning a better income now. We use the money to support our children’s education, as they are still studying. It also helps us cover our daily expenses and pay taxes in the village. At the moment, oranges are our only source of income.”
Farmers sell their oranges in Samdrup Jongkhar, with most of the produce directly sold from the village.
Thungkhar – Berdungma Chiwog Tshogpa said they have proposed budget to provide additional saplings in next financial year.
Last year, about 45 households from Berdungma village produced around 60 metric tonnes of oranges.
Thrimshing is the second largest orange producing gewog after Yangnyer Gewog in Trashigang.
Sonam Darjay, Trashigang
