Cardamom production has seen a significant rise in Baglung, with farmers producing 48 metric tons of cardamom last year, thanks to the expansion of cultivation areas.
According to data from the Agricultural Knowledge Center, farmers in Baglung earned a total of Rs 60 million from cardamom sales in the last fiscal year.
Balibhadra Sapkota, a farmer from Jaimini Municipality Ward No. 2, shared that cardamom cultivation is growing each year, driven by hopes of securing a good price. However, Sapkota noted that farmers in Baglung are receiving lower prices for their cardamom compared to other districts, with the price per kilogram in the region at Rs 1,250.
Yet the increasing appeal of cardamom farming is reflected in the expanding cultivation area. In the fiscal year 2078/79, cardamom was cultivated on 128 hectares of land, producing 42 metric tons. At the price of Rs 950 per kilogram, farmers earned Rs 39.9 million.
In the fiscal year 2079/80, cultivation grew to 131 hectares, but production dropped to 38 metric tons due to the spread of diseases, including cardamom root rot and leaf and stem drying.
Although cardamom has already been sold in the month of Kartik in the current fiscal year, the Agricultural Knowledge Center is still in the process of gathering precise data on the total sales.
Santosh Adhikari, the Crop Protection Officer and Information Officer at the Knowledge Center, explained that cardamom cultivation has now expanded to 140 hectares in the district, with 96 hectares already yielding crops.
A ‘Cardamom Zone’ has been established, covering eight out of Baglung’s ten local levels. Narayan Poudel, Acting Senior Agriculture Officer of the Prime Minister’s Agricultural Modernization Project, Baglung, confirmed that the zone establishment program has been approved and is underway in the current fiscal year. The zone includes 12 cardamom pocket areas and two cardamom blocks.
According to Information Officer Poudel, cardamom is being produced in various areas, including Tarakhola, Kathekhola, Badigad Rural Municipality, Bareng, Nisikhola Rural Municipality, and the municipalities of Baglung, Jaimini, and Galkot.
With proper management, cardamom plants can continue to produce for up to 10 years after being planted. The harvested cardamom is categorized by quality and sold at different prices.
