Farmers of Zhemgang struggle to sell green chillies despite slashing the price by almost 70 per cent compared to the initial price of Nu 300 per kilogram. Chilli is one of the main sources of income for the farmers of Zhemgang.
It is time to harvest chillies in Zhemgang. The fields are lush green with chillies. The yield is bountiful. But without selling much of the yield, it is almost time to clear the fields for paddy transplantation. Some farmers of Lower Kheng couldn’t sell even a kilogram of chilli because there is lesser demand.
“We even tried selling in Panbang market. But we could fetch just over Nu 100 for a kilogram. We also tried sending it to Zhemgang market but couldn’t due to the stringent COVID-19 protocols. There is no one willing to buy it when we tried to send it to Thimphu,” said Rinchen Dorji from Goshing Gewog.
“We thought of drying the chillies but couldn’t due to continuous rainfall. Our chillies started to rot. We couldn’t earn much income selling the spice. It is disappointing to see our hard work go into vain,” added Tshewang Lhamo from Ngangla Gewog.
Farmers staying nearby the Zhemgang town fetch around Nu 50 to Nu 100 for a kilogram. Sometimes it drops to Nu 25 to Nu 30. Local vegetable vendors in Zhemgang said the decrease in the demand could be because almost everyone started growing the spice in their kitchen gardens after the price soared last year amid the pandemic.
The farmers in Zhemgang began mass winter chilli cultivation to meet local demands amid the pandemic. Some of them are also proposing the government provide market-oriented farming and develop a sustainable marketing strategy to avoid such issues in the future.
“In the future, the government should develop good strategies to support such farming so what we produce does not go to waste,” said Tshering Dorji from Nangkor Gewog.
The dzongkhag agriculture officials said they are aware of the issue and have explored possible ways to market chillies to other districts. But they couldn’t due to overwhelming production in the rest of the districts as well. In the meantime, the officials are also inquiring about the requirements with the pickle manufacturing factories in the country.
The Zhemgang Dzongkhag Agriculture Sector targeted to produce around 20 MT of green chillies this season.
Pema Samdrup, Zhemgang
