Myagdi. Govinda Kisan of Beni Municipality-3, Bhakimli, is as happy and enthusiastic as he is to see the chillies ripening in his field.

“Impressed by the success of other farmers in the village, the chillies planted on two ropanis are ripening and turning red. “He said, “I should be happy to see the chillies, but I am worried about where to sell them.” ’

Govind has cultivated Akavre chilli for the first time this year as an alternative to millet and maize in the field near his house. Farmers have complained that it is difficult to increase the price of Akavre chillies to Rs 170 per kg this year, which was sold at Rs 200 per kg last year.

Lal Bahadur Pun, proprietor of Sochindra Agriculture and Livestock Farm, who earned Rs 400,000 by selling chillies last year, has cultivated Akabare chillies in nine ropanis of land this year.

“If we get a good price, we will sell chillies worth more than Rs 20 lakh this year. “Two years ago, chillies were sold at Rs 350 per kg, but last year they were sold at Rs 190 per kg. ’

In Bhakimli, 10 farmers including Govinda Nepali, Lal Bahadur Pun, Ram Ruchal, Khim Ale, Kul Pun, Jagdevi Gharti and Mani Roka have taken up commercial farming. Lal Bahadur said that some traders who buy chillies at a cheaper price have harassed the farmers by not paying them.

The farmers of Bhakimli have started commercial Akbare farming in the last three years. Prior to this, Akbare had not been commercially cultivated. Bhim Bahadur Roka, secretary of Beldhunga Farmers’ Group, started his business after bringing seeds from Taplejung on a trial basis. Akbare chilli is being cultivated commercially for the first time in Bhakimli. The Agriculture Development Office had provided the grant through the Vegetable Farming Promotion Program.

Sanjeev Bastola, chief of the Agriculture Development Office, said that Akbare chili is suitable for cultivation in Bhakimli due to its high hilly geography and climate. According to him, Akbare chili can be cultivated in the high hills and Terai geography where the temperature is 22 to 25 degrees Celsius in the day and 15 to 20 degrees Celsius in the night.

Beni, Darwang, Tatopani, Galeshwor, Mustang, Babiyachaur, Darbang, Kushma and Baglung are the local markets for Akbare chillies. Kul Bahadur Pun, who has been cultivating Akbare chillies as an alternative to traditional food crops like millet and maize, complained that he has not been able to earn income due to the problem of drying up the plants after the flowers started blooming. Padam Pun, ward chairman of Beni Municipality-3, Bhakimli, said that they have coordinated to contact traders and farmers for the marketing of chillies and agricultural technicians have been deployed in areas where there is a problem of pests and pests.

The training is necessary to develop the knowledge and skills of drying, processing and packaging unsold chillies in fresh condition.