With easy access to market, Doti farmers growing more ginger

By Dil Bahadur Singh,Doti, Mar. 16: As there is no shortage of market for locally produced ginger, the number of farmers producing ginger in Doti has been increasing every year. Badikedar Rural Municipality in Doti is the area where the most ginger is produced. 

Along with Badikedar, ginger is also produced in Bogatan Phudsil Rural Municipality and Jorayal Rural Municipality. Farmers are producing ginger without using chemical fertilisers. Traders from various places are visiting these municipalities to buy organic ginger. 

A businessman from Jhapa has bought 60 quintals of ginger produced by Upendra Malla of Badikedar Rural Municipality-3 of Doti. Malla has been cultivating ginger commercially for a long time. With easy access to road transport and the increase in ginger production, the traders are buying ginger in bulk from the local farmers for commercial purposes. 

Malla said, "Traders from Kathmandu, Biratnagar, Jhapa and even from India come to buy the ginger. After the easy access to the market, ginger farmers like us are more encouraged to multiply our production." Farmers have said that ginger is produced using organic manure without using any chemical fertiliser.

Puskar Bohara, a local farmer involved in ginger production in Bogatan Phudsil Rural Municipality-2 of Doti, said, "Chemical fertilisers are not available in the local market at the time of need, and we have started using organic manure which we have at home. The ginger we produce is considered organic ginger by the consumers."

As ginger requires a lot of fertiliser, we need to change cultivation land every year. 

A ginger trader of Dhangadhi, Pushkar Joshi said that consumers like the ginger produced in this area because the farmers use only organic manure while producing it.

Joshi said, "The demand for ginger produced in hilly areas of Doti is high in the market. From Dhangadhi, we have been supplying ginger to different parts of the country and the organic gingers are also exported to India. 

Farmers in Doti have increased the production of ginger every year due to the connection of road networks to the rural areas of the district and easy access to the market. According to Gangadutta Awasthi, Acting Chief of Agriculture Knowledge Centre, Doti "Around 13,246 tonnes of ginger was produced in 850 hectares of land in the district in the fiscal year 2022/23."

Similarly, in the fiscal year 2021/22, around 13,100 tonnes of ginger was produced while cultivating in 845 hectares of land. Likewise, around 11,700 tonnes of ginger was produced in the fiscal year 2020/21.

The AKC, Doti, has been working by developing ginger pocket areas in various villages of the district. Farmers have said that a kg of ginger was sold at Rs. 70 to Rs. 130 last year. 

Although ginger production is increasing, farmers are forced to sell ginger immediately after production due to a lack of storage arrangements in areas. Farmers said that if proper storage was in place, they can get good prices by selling it during the off-season as well.