In Pema Gatshel’s Dechhenling Gewog, farmers are switching to growing cassava as a cash crop. Mongar village in Goishing-Ridzommo Chiwog is the second village after Chhoekhorling to start mass cassava cultivation. Villagers have taken up the cultivation after the National Piggery and Research Centre in Gelephu agreed to buy their produce.
Cassava was once a lost farming practice in the village, but now that the National Piggery and Research Centre is buying it for feed production, the villagers have revived the practice.
The plant is now becoming a source of income for farmers in Pema Gatshel.
“Our fruit trees are dying now. So, we thought that cassava would be a better alternative. We are 15 households in our group, and we earned more than Nu 20,000 each last year,” said Sonam Gyeltshen.
“We do not have any other source of income. So, we started cassava cultivation. We chop it and dry it for about a month before selling it for feed production in Gelephu,” said Cheten Norbu.
This huge, seemingly barren land is filled with cassava plants. Farmers do mix cropping and plant maize along with cassava.
Farmers say chopping the cassava manually is time-consuming. However, this chaff cutter machine given by the National Piggery and Research Centre last year has made their work easy.
“In the past, almost all our land remained fallow. We didn’t even cultivate cassava. We have been practising cassava farming for a few years now and it has benefited us,” added Cheten Norbu.
“We used to cultivate in almost two to three acres of land in our group. Some even cultivated separately in almost an acre of their land. Some of the farmers have already finished cultivation and some are still planting it,” added Sonam Gyeltshen.
With business picking up, other farmers in Goishing-Ridzommo Chiwog are also taking up cassava cultivation.
The dried cassava is sold for Nu 15 a kilogram. The farmers in the chiwog sold more than 13 tonnes of dried cassava last year.
Thinley Dorji, Pema Gatshel
Edited by Sherub Dorji
