Merdha farmers of Kangpar Gewog in Trashigang prefer selling fresh green chilies, although the dried ones fetch higher prices. Thanks to the road connectivity, it has made marketing products easier as well as due to the challenges associated with drying chillies. Chilli is one of the main sources of income for the farmers of Merdha village.
Unlike the past, nowadays not many farmers dry their chillies in Merdha. And those who do so do it mostly for self-consumption.
Farmers here say that about five years ago, the roofs of most houses would be covered with chillies being dried. But the situation has now changed.
“People used to dry their chillies here. It’s filled with bushes now because nobody dries their chillies anymore,” said Dechen Wangdi.
“This entire hill used to be covered with chillies being dried before. It is now turning into a forest.”
Tshering Lhamo says everyone used to dry chillies before. “We used to dry our chilies everywhere, in any open space we could find. But now, with access to road, people can sell the chillies right after the harvest,” she said.
“We only dry some for our own consumption now.”
Although profitable, the farmers say drying chillies is quite difficult. They say while farmers in most of the other villages use advanced drying techniques and machine, they are still stuck with the primitive method. They added the unpredictable weather is also a challenge.
“If it rains, the chilies we keep outside to dry get damaged. It is just easier to sell the green chilli,” said Dorji Choden. “It also takes a lot of time to dry them and even if we use machines, it is too expensive.”
“It is difficult to dry the chillies. When it rains, the chilies get damaged, and we have to segregate them one by one,” said Tshering Lhamo. She said farmers don’t have to do all that work if they sell the chillies right after harvest.
Farmers say it takes around eight kilograms of fresh chillies to produce to one kilogram of dried ones. However, while eight kilograms of green chillies fetch around Nu 400, a kilogram of dried chillies fetches nearly Nu 800.
Meanwhile, to help the farmers, the Gewog Agriculture Extension officer said they have plans to install solar dryers at Merdha and a few other villages within this fiscal year. Merdha village has almost 30 households.
Sonam Darjay, Trashigang
Edited by Yeshi Gyaltshen
