Farmers attracted towards commercial cultivation of cardamom amid peaking price of cash crop

By Gokul Bhujel,Bhojpur, Jan. 31: After starting to get good price for cardamom, the farmers of Bhojpur are now attracted towards cardamom cultivation. Gunaraj Rai of Arun Rural Municipality-2, Champe sold six mans (40 kg) cardamom at a rate of Rs. 60,000 per man this year in Kartik.

He is satisfied even though the price has increased and reached Rs. 85,000 per man at present. Last year, cardamom was sold at the rate of Rs. 20,000 per man, but now the price of cardamom is increasing day by day over the recent months. Rai said, "About 20 mans of cardamom is produced in 30 ropanis of land of the village, and the investment is recovered by selling the cardamom saplings while the rest is profit."

Another local farmer, Laxman Rai, produced about six mans of cardamom in 15 ropanies of land, but he has produced about 3.5 mans of cardamom this year. "Local traders come to our house and purchase cardamom at a good price. We have planted cardamom in the field where we used to produce rice. Cardamom earns better than rice, corn and millet. The income from the sale of cardamom is enough to manage household expenses, children's education and expenses for clothes as well."

He said that as the cardamom is sold at up to Rs. 2,500 per kg, locals of the village along with him have been attracted towards the commercial cardamom cultivation. In the old kilns, there were many problems such as time, firewood consumption, worker's health problems and investment cost. But now, with the new modern kilns provided by the cardamom zone, these problems have been resolved and it is easy to dry the produce, said farmers.

The cardamom cultivation needs water from the sky during winter, and irrigation should also be arranged. Along with the lack of irrigation, the production of cardamom is reduced due to the outbreak of various diseases. According to local cardamom trader Shukra Raj Rai, the price of cardamom has been increasing gradually for the past two years.

At present, they have purchased a Dambarsai variety of cardamom at Rs. 85,000 per man reaching farmers' homes. The main reasons to pay high price for cardamom are the low production, along with the modern furnaces used by cardamom farmers to dry cardamom. With the use of modern technology for drying cardamom, the colour of cardamom does not change, the smoke smell is reduced, the weight is not reduced, and the quality is better, so the price has not decreased.

The cardamom farmers are excited about the recent rise in the price of cardamom. The credit goes to the Cardamom Zone Office Bhojpur. It has supported the cardamom farmers in the construction of irrigation infrastructure and modern kilns for drying the cardamom.

Rajesh Bista, the district president of the Cardamom Traders Association, said, "Drying cardamom in modern kilns has enhanced the quality of cardamom, weight, ease of storage and sale and distribution." He said that they would urge the federal, provincial and local governments for the labeling, packaging and branding of cardamom to make cardamom cultivation more commercial.

According to the Cardamom Zone Office, 98 farmer groups and agricultural firms of Bhojpur district have been involved in the Cardamom Zone programme and are cultivating cardamom. The zone office Bhojpur has been conducting the programme by linking the farmer groups engaged in cardamom cultivation with it.

According to it, cardamom cultivation is being done in 723 hectares in the district, and cardamom has started to produce in the 665 hectares of land. At the rate of 0.42 tonnes per hectare, 279.3 tonnes of cardamom has been produced this year, said Kaushila Bista, chief of the Prime Minister Agriculture Modernisation Project, Project Implementation Unit Sankhuwasabha Zone Technical Unit, Bhojpur. According to Bista, the programme of cardamom zone is operating in 30 wards of six local levels in Bhojpur.