About 20 tonnes of cardamom produced in Parbat, but not sold

By Ganesh Poudel,Parbat, Feb. 5: After the land became barren, farmers of Parbat have started cultivating cardamom on the barren land.

According to the data of the Agriculture Knowledge Centre, Parbat, around 20 tonnes of cardamom has been produced in the district.

Although the production of cardamom cultivated by the farmers of different wards of the district is increasing, they are not getting the expected benefits due to lack of market.

With the help of Agriculture Knowledge Centre, Parbat as well as the local levels of the district, the farmers have expanded cardamom cultivation, but they have complained that they have not been able to get the expected return due to the lack of market.

In most of the wards in the upper part of the district, cardamom is cultivated traditionally and commercially, but the local level as well as the agricultural knowledge centre did not coordinate for marketing, so the farmers are worried.

According to local farmer Urmila KC, cardamom has been produced every year, but it is not being sold and stockpiled at the farmer’s houses.

According to her, some cardamom was kept in sacks and some left on the plant due to inability to get good price and not being sold for the past three years.

"At first, cardamom was planted in the fields so that there would be no problem of sale. Now, it has stopped being sold, so we left it on the plants," KC said.

KC said, “We have left the cardamom in the plants because we have to spend from our pockets even to pay the workers who are involved in the cleaning of the bushes and fertilisers.”

Farmers said that there is a problem in getting workers to go and work in cold places because most of the farming is done in cold places and bushes.

Farmers have also become disappointed as the cultivation of cardamom in most of the wards of the district is not being sold on time.

According to the Centre, cardamom has been cultivated in an area of 60 hectares in the district.

In some places, cultivation has been done commercially through cooperatives and agricultural firms, but due to lack of expected returns, farmers have stopped cultivating lately.

The Centre has increased the production by helping the farmers of the cardamom pocket area of the district in building modern furnaces and equipment, but it does not show much interest in marketing.

Manita Thapa, chief of Agriculture Knowledge Centre, Parbat, said that traders come looking for quality products and contacted some traders.

She said that even because the farmers do not pay attention to the quality of the produce, there is a problem in selling it.

Farmers have shown interest in expanding farming as it is possible to cultivate in the barren fields in the village after working 1-2 times a year.

Traders said that the demand for cardamom, which is cultivated as a spice crop with medicinal values, is good in the Indian market, but it is not sold much in Nepal.

Farmers said that cardamom is sold in India, but the traders do not give good prices and sometimes do not come to buy it for 2-3 years, so the cardamom goes to waste.

Traders said that farmers are able to benefit if the government can manage the market because it is sold to India at a low price from Nepal, but it uses the green cardamom that comes from India.