Farmers Hurry to Pick up Cardamom, Dashain was Celebrated in the Garden

Kathmandu : Fungling. The process of going to the houses of the dignitaries to apply Tika and Jamra as a Prasad of Navadurga and to bless them continues. On the day of Vijayadashami, worshiping the goddess for nine days, offering prasad and taking blessings from the dignitaries, which starts after the immersion of the goddess, continues till the day of Kojagrat Poornima. The community living in the rural areas of Taplejung celebrated Dashain in the cardamom garden. Farmers who came to pick cardamom in the garden far away from home could not go home due to work interruption.

Virkh Bahadur Limbu of Paktanglung Rural Municipality-6 Fembu, who left home, has not returned home since the cardamom plantation. His routine is passing in the cardamom garden of Paktanglung rural municipality-5 Okharbate. Now Limbu’s family is in the garden. He was planting eight to 12 fields daily and celebrated Dashain this year in this garden.

Paktanglung-5 Tamawa’s Purna Limbu also celebrated Dashain in the cardamom garden. His family could not return home on Dashain because they were busy picking, leaving and drying cardamom in the garden. “After it begins to grow, it should be washed, left and dried,” he said.

After drying, garden work can be done. That is why he had to stay in the cardamom field even during Dashain, he said.

Harak Limbu of Sirijanga-6 Mamankhe also did not get vaccinated this year. He could not go home because he was busy working in the garden. He is picking in a big garden and has planned to return after finishing work before Tihar.

Most of the farmers in the district are currently trying to bring in cardamom. Although harvesting has already been done in Aul, harvesting and drying is currently being done in the central and Lekali areas. Hard to find workers :

A few years ago, cardamom was cultivated only in a limited area. However, seven years ago, the market price of cardamom reached 120,000 rupees. The cardamom plantation began to expand from the year it got a good market price. A few years ago, cardamom was cultivated as a subsidiary crop.

With good market price of cardamom, farmers have expanded cardamom cultivation in the land where major grains such as paddy, corn, kado are cultivated. With the good market price of cardamom, young people who wanted to go for foreign employment have been attracted to cultivation.

Those who went abroad for foreign employment have also returned and started cultivating cardamom in their villages. The expansion of cardamom plantations in the district has gradually started. Agricultural Knowledge Center Office Taplejung has informed that according to the farmers, cardamom is harvested in three stages in the district. Cardamom planted at a height of 1,200 meters is picked from the first week of August.

Similarly, in cardamom farming at an altitude of 1,200 to 1,800, picking starts from the first week of October. Farmers say that cardamom has been picked from October to October in the lake area. In Taplejung, cardamom is being cultivated on an area of ​​about 4,500 hectares. There are statistics that 2500 metric tons of cardamom is produced from this farm. Cardamom farmers are excited because the price of cardamom is also good this year.

Almost all the villagers have a cardamom garden in the area where cardamom is cultivated. You cannot pick it yourself in your garden. If they are not picked in time, wild animals eat the ripe fruit.

For that, it should be picked and brought in on time. However, Kumar Rai, a cardamom farmer of Paktanglung Rural Municipality-5, said that he has stopped getting farmland like in previous years. He says, “Nowadays, it is difficult to get a farm. Even if you look for a farmer with money in the whole village, you will not find it. Everyone is welcome to pick their own garden.”