Disease destroys ginger; farmers demand compensation

Ilam, Dec 30: Ginger production has witnessed a loss in Ilam due to disease.     

Ginger farmers here have been hit hard with the rise in the trend of ginger tuber rot and then the dry-up of its plant. Most of the farmers in Ilam have given up cultivating ginger after the ginger plants started dying due to the disease.     

Ginger is the fastest source of livelihood for the people of Ilam. Milan Khadka, a farmer of Maijogmai rural municipality-3, said that farmers have stopped cultivating ginger due to the disease.     

Milan Khadka, a farmer of Maijiogmai rural municipality-3, said farmers have increasingly stopped cultivating ginger in their farms due to prevalence of diseases.     

"Ginger is the main source of income for the farmers of Ilam. We have been managing household expenses from its income. But, lately, invasion of disease in ginger farming has troubled us a lot", he said, adding, "Livelihood of most of the farmers has turned to be a challenge",     

Raghunath Aryal, a farmer, said that ginger has been infected with diseases such as wheat rot, gabaro and leaves drying up . "At first, the plants are rotten and then the plants die gradually," he said. The disease is considered to be the most harmful for ginger. The disease destroys the fruit of ginger.     

The local, province and federal government should identify the problems of ginger farmers and explore the resolving measures, farmers said, demanding arrangement of necessary grants as incentives.(RSS)