The District Agriculture Office of Gulmi informed that the farmers from about a dozen Village Development Committees, including Johang, Ashlewa, Digam, Baletaksar, Ruru, Musikot, Badagaun, are facing hard time to protect their coffee after the pest that infects the coffee plants badly.
The district is well-known for its coffee, especially for its organic coffee farming spread over 125 hectares of land. [break]
The DAO has predicted that the coffee production is likely to plummet by 15 percent in the district due to the outbreak of the disease this year.
Chetanath Adhikari, a senior officer at the DAO, said that they were trying to control the pest, but it was not so easy as they have to apply an organic way to control it.
“Rather than rejoicing the news of the growing export of our coffee, we are worried about the spread of the pest,” said Mahdu Malla, farmer of Badagaun. “It has reached to an uncontrollable situation.”
Some farmers also have started to clear their coffee farms, anticipating a huge loss.
Over the recent months, the organic coffee produced in the districts has become popular in Japan, Korea and Australia. The District Cooperatives Union of Gulmi has been marketing the coffee produced by some 350 farmers.
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