Months of hard work paid off for the farmers of Jangdoong under Saling Gewog in Monggar. The first trial at cultivating chilli in the winter season is a huge success. Jangdung Gayza Doejong Tshogpa, a farmer’s group piloted the trial winter chilli cultivation programme on over two acres of land to meet local demands during the dry season.
It is now time to harvest the yield. So far, the group harvested and sold over 600 kilograms of chilli in Lingmithang, Gyalpozhing and Monggar town. They expect to harvest around 2,000 kilograms this season. Since not many farmers grow chillies during winter the group sees no dearth of customers.
“The harvest is beyond our expectation. So we are thinking of cultivating next season as well,” said Dawa Yoezer, a farmer in Jangdoong.
“We encouraged by the yield from the trial program. The gewog agriculture extension supervisor’s support made this possible. We are happy to bale to sell the chillies during the off-season,” added Sonam Dema.
The farmers started the trial programme with support from the district agriculture sector and Agriculture Research and Development Centre in Monggar. They said it wouldn’t be far for them to achieve chilli self-sufficiency and even vegetables for that matter if the government encourages and assists the farmers.
“I feel that we addressed the chilli shortage in Monggar Dzongkhag to some extent. The harvest is good. If we work with full commitment, we can address the shortage during the off-season,” added Dawa Yoezer.
However, currently, as the chilli plants are grown in the paddy field, some farmers fear they may not be able to harvest the entire yield with the paddy transplantation season just around the corner.
“I think we started the programme a bit late. We harvest the paddy by November and December. We are discussing among the group members that we should start planting chilli a little earlier if we are to cultivate in the paddy fields or look for other drylands to grow chilli,” said Sonam Dema.
The group managed to earn Nu 500 per kilogram during the first harvest last month. But the district agriculture sector monitored the price and they started selling it at Nu 300 for a kilogram.
Encouraged by the bountiful yield this season, the group plans to cultivate chillies on an increased area of 20 acres of land from next year should there be continued support from the district agriculture sector.
Sonam Tshering
