Lamjung, 20th January: Farmers here have earned an income of Rs 220 million by selling cardamom. According to Hari Bahadur Mijar, acting senior agricultural officer of the Prime Minister’s Agriculture Modernization Project Implementation Unit, Lamjung, farmers have sold 150 metric tons of cardamom produced in the district in the current fiscal year. This year, cardamom has been sold in the district at a price of Rs 1,050 to Rs 2,400 per kilogram.
Similarly, in the last fiscal year 2080/81(2023/024), farmers in the district sold 251 metric tons of cardamom and earned an income of Rs 240 million. According to Mizar, last year, farmers in the district sold cardamom at a rate of Rs 1,200 per kilogram. This year, production has decreased compared to last year. Similarly, in the fiscal year 2079/80(2022/023), an income of Rs 200 million was generated from the sale of 380 metric tons of cardamom. That year, cardamom was sold for at least Rs 550 to Rs 700 per kilogram.
In the fiscal year 2078/79(2022/023), 335 metric tons of cardamom were sold, generating an income of Rs 150 million. In the fiscal year 2077/78(2021/022), 3,500 quintals of cardamom were sold, generating an income of Rs 182 million. In the fiscal year 2076/77, farmers in the district sold 2,000 quintals of cardamom and generated an income of Rs 120 million. Similarly, in the fiscal year 2075/76(2019/020), farmers sold 750 quintals of cardamom and generated an income of Rs 52 million.
Farmers from Marsyangdi Rural Municipality are the best at producing cardamom in the district. This year, locals from Sanjapu, Marsyangdi Rural Municipality-5, have sold 6,700 kg of cardamom and earned Rs 15 million, said Kamkashi Gurung, president of the Sanjapu Cardamom Farmers Group. The income was generated from cardamom cultivation by about 60 households in the village.
Despite complaints that farmers are not getting the price of cardamom they demand due to India’s monopoly, farmers say they have felt some relief this year. The office has stated that although cardamom cultivation is carried out in an area of 750 hectares in the district, production is being carried out in an area of 375 hectares.
The project has already declared Marsyangdi Rural Municipality, Besisahar Municipality, Kvhonlasothar Rural Municipality, Dordi Rural Municipality and Dudhpokhari Rural Municipality as cardamom zone pocket areas. The highest cardamom production is done in this area. In the district, Saunne, Jirmale and Dambar Shahi varieties have been planted at an altitude of 700 meters to 1,200 meters, Golshahi at an altitude of 1,200 meters to 16 meters, and Ramshahi and Bhalange at an altitude of 1,600 to 2,200 meters. Cardamom cultivation has been expanding here since 2041 BS(1985).
