Gorkhabajar, Oct. 14: Cardamom is sold at Rs. 2,000 per kg in Gorkha district in recent days. Farmers increased it to Rs. 2000 from Rs. 1200 of last year. They increased the price saying production was reduced than last year. Farmer from Hanshapur Krishna Jung Ghimire said although cardamom price is Rs. 2300 per kg, they were selling by incurring loss of Rs. 300 per kg. Ghimire said they decided to sell at Rs. 2000 as contractors bargained saying they had problems in transport and movement.Cardamom contractors from Jhapa have reached Hanshapur, he said, adding production decreased as there were diseases and insects. Farmers have been undertaking commercial cardamom farming in Hanshapur, Kharibot, Thalajung and Muchchok.
Last year, 15.7 mt cardamom was sold from Hanshapur and Kharibot alone. Last year, we sold it worth Rs. 35 million, said Thalajung farmer Dhana Bahadur Gurung and now they have a target to sell worth Rs. 50 million from the village this year. Gurung said cardamom was cultivated in Ramche of Thalajung on community level as well. It is also cultivated in local community forests in Hanshapur and Kharibot VDCs.Agriculture Officer of District Agriculture Development Office Gorkha Krishna Prasad Paudel said plan was made to control diseases, whereas Nepal Cardamom Entrepreneurs Association Gorkha Branch Chairman Govind Gurung urged farmers to be careful of the middlemen. The produced cardamom will be arranged for sale through the association, he said. Cardamom is cultivated in some 800 hectares of land in Gorkha district.
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