Business»
Drought hits cardamom farmers
TERHATHUM, APR 19 -
Cardamom farmers in the eastern hills have been hit by a long drought this season.
Lack of rain has badly affected cardamom saplings. Farmers said that the drought had caused rivulets and other water sources to dry up.
Chitra Bahadur Karki, a resident of Musangkhel, Basantapur has started destroying his cardamom orchard as the saplings had shrivelled up. He is planning to plant other crops on the land. Another farmer Surya Bahadur Karki said he used to earn Rs. 40,000 annually from cardamom. However, this season his orchard has turned arid.
Cardamom is the major cash crop in Terhathum and the surrounding hill areas. Increasing problems of pests and droughts have compelled them to switch to other crops. Basantapur, Fulek, Sungnam, Dangpa, Solma, Jirikhimti, Mora-hang, Shreejung, Pauthak, Hamarjung and other village development committees have been severely affected by the dry spell. Cardamom has high export potential. Recent export trends of large cardamom to India and other markets have been very encouraging.
Nepal is one of the major producers of large cardamom and accounts for 50 percent of world exports; 90 percent of Nepal’s production is exported, mostly to India.
“I have been growing cardamom for the last couple of years,” said Gopi Dhungana, a farmer of Khamlalung.
Posted on: 2010-04-20 07:23
Headlines
Advertisements
