KATHMANDU, Dec 4: Farmers in Bogtan area of Doti have not been able to collect and store ginger as they did not get a fair price in the market. They have left the crop in the field.
The price of ginger has dropped drastically compared to last year. Indra Devi Chand, a farmer of Badri Kedar-5, Dhamigaun, said, “I have left the ginger in the field itself after the price of ginger dropped by 50 percent compared to last year." Last year, she sold ginger for Rs 40 per kg. "At present, traders are not buying ginger even at Rs 20 per kg," she lamented.
Low price worries ginger farmers in Taplejung
After seeing good income in ginger last year, many farmers in Bogtan area had stopped planting maize and started planting ginger instead. "Ginger was planted on maize fields and now the price drops," said Ram Mauni, a local from Badri Kedar-4, Mannakapadi. He said that it would be easier if the government fixed the price of ginger. "The government invests in agriculture, but it did not fix the price of the crops produced by the farmers due to which farmers are at loss because of middlemen," he said.
Similarly, he complained that various governmental and non-governmental organizations played important roles to attract farmers to ginger cultivation in Bogtan area, but no one has taken initiative to fix the price of the crop. “Now the price of ginger has dropped and no one seems to care,” Bir Bahadur Bhul of Barchain said. Neighbors also planted ginger in the maize field this time, he added. “Even if there was nothing, we would have survived by eating corn, but this time, it has been really difficult for us.”
According to traders, due to the increase in production of ginger in India, the Nepali market has been affected. According to Rose Kalel, a local, the ginger produced in Doti was consumed by people in India. However, after there was an increase in production in India itself, Doti’s ginger was limited to the local market which led to a decrease in price. "This time, the Indian traders have reduced the price of ginger, so we have not been able to get a fair price," he said.
