Jhapa.- In a major milestone for the project, a ginger washing and processing plant is expected to open in the next few months in Jhapa district, in eastern Nepal. The plant will add value to ginger exported from Nepal, particularly in the target districts of Morang, Jhapa, Ilam and Panchthar, and allow farmers to earn higher export prices, with the potential to boost farm income by 30 percent.

Nepal is already the fourth biggest ginger exporter in the world, with about 70% of domestic production exported to India. Ginger crops generate important cash income for farmers in the target districts. However, many farmers are not aware of the best ginger varieties and best way to harvest and store their crops, to ensure they get maximum price for their harvest. Some farmers are growing lower yielding varieties, which are more susceptible to diseases, such as rhizome rot, and pests, such as rhizome fly and stem borer. Many have no capacity to store their crop until they can sell at the best market price, and most Nepalese ginger is washed, graded and packaged in India, rather than domestically.

By improving the varieties grown, and introducing new production techniques and post-harvest cleaning and grading, Nepalese farmers can produce larger crops of quality ginger and attract higher prices in export markets in India, and elsewhere.

As well as FAO and the Ministry of Agricultural Development, other partners in the ginger project include the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies; the Agro Enterprise Centre; the Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industries and the Nepal Ginger Producers and Traders' Association.
In late July, a monitoring team with representatives of FAO and the other partners visited the ginger washing and processing facilities, in Jhapa. During the visit, the Secretary at the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies, Nagindra Prasad Upadhyaya, emphasized the importance of cooperation among farmers, traders and the Ministry of Agricultural Development. The Assistant Representative (Programmes) of FAO in Nepal, Dr Binod Saha, said it was important for the local industry to have high standards of crop cleaning and production, to meet the sanitary, phytosanitary and food safety standards required by ginger importers.

The national project coordinator and Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Agricultural Development, Udaya Chandra Thakur, said he was pleased to see the motivation of the farmers and traders involved.

Farmers' representatives at the visit said they had already seen yields double, to 1.4 metric tonnes per ropani, in trial ginger crops grown in plots managed by a local Farmer Field School. Moreover, rhizome rot disease had been brought under control in the trial plots, with a combination of measures including cultural, biological and chemical.

More than 4000 farm households will be able to process their ginger crops at the plant, which will create 200 seasonal jobs and benefit 200 traders. The Jhapa ginger washing and processing plant will have the capacity to wash six metric tonnes of ginger per hour.