Kum Bahadur Tamang of Faleni Nagi, Dordi Rural Municipality-7, became disillusioned with farming after monkeys and bears started eating his corn and millet crops. He gave up farming for a few years. He searched for crops that monkeys and bears wouldn't eat, but couldn't find any.

At that time, a notice came from the rural municipality that they would provide Rs 5,000 per plant for planting Akbare chillies. Then he decided to cultivate Akbare. Where would he get the seeds? How would he cultivate them? He did not know. However, when the rural municipality said they would help, he prepared 18 ropanis of his own barren land and that of his neighbor.

After receiving seeds and mulching materials at a 50 percent subsidy, he planted Akbare. “Even in such a cold place, Akbare grew well. It grew even more abundantly in the valley below,” says Tamang. “Akbare, which monkeys and bears do not eat, has grown and matured.” He has sold 35 quintals of Akbare so far. There are still 3-4 quintals in the garden. He says that at least 1 kg is produced per plant. Due to the Gen-G movement, he had to sell it for only Rs 150 to 200 per kg. Tamang, who received a subsidy of Rs 85,000 from the rural municipality, said that he earned at least Rs 550,000.

Rabindra Adhikari of Dordi Rural Municipality-2, Archalbote, made a good income from Akbare. He is also an excellent farmer awarded by the rural municipality. He grew 39 quintals of Akbare in 15 ropanis and sold it for Rs 200 to Rs 400 per kilo. He says that he earned about Rs 1.2 million. ‘I sold Akbare by agreeing with a businessman,’ he says, ‘After the Gen-G movement, Bhatbhateni was burnt, most of it was sold from there.’ He said that even though it started growing in Shrawan-Bhadau, the price had to be sold for Rs 200 per kilo. He had received a subsidy of Rs 70,000 from the rural municipality. ‘My farmland was also barren. I rented a barren field from my neighbor. Akbare is now growing in a field that used to grow corn and millet,’ says Adhikari. He said that he has promoted cardamom cultivation so that it can be sold in Baisakh.

Tamang and Adhikari are not the only ones. In Dordi Rural Municipality, about 200 households, individually and collectively, have grown Akbare chillies on 700 ropanis this year. Many farmers have formed agricultural groups and are engaged in collective farming. 

According to Yama Bahadur Gurung, chairman of the Kamchowk Farmers Group in Kamchowk, Dordi Rural Municipality-4, 44 people affiliated with the group have cultivated Akbare on 37 ropanis. The rural municipality had provided Rs 185,000 in seeds, mulching, etc.

They have grown 50 quintals of Akbare this year. ‘Initially, it was sold for Rs 380 per kilo. Later, it fell to Rs 220, 100. There was no loss,’ says Gurung. This same group has earned an income of about Rs 1.2 million. In the fiscal year 2080/081, Dordi Rural Municipality planted Akbare on 20 ropanis in Ward No. 4, Kamchowk, Bansbot and Kukhuredhunga as a trial. After the results were encouraging, commercial farming was started. The municipality has played an active role in seeds, nurseries, mulching, equipment, training and market management.

According to Suk Bahadur Gurung, a leading farmer of Dordi Rural Municipality-4, Akbare has changed the thinking of farmers. ‘Those who do good care have grown Akbare worth Rs 1.5 lakh in one season. It was sold for up to Rs 400 per kilo in the field,’ he says. According to him, farmers do not only sell Akbare for that much but also make it into pickles and sell it. 

According to Niranjan Poudel, head of the agricultural unit of Dordi Rural Municipality, Akbare has been cultivated in areas ranging from 800 to 1,700 meters above sea level. Most of the barren fields have been utilized. According to data from cooperatives and traders, more than 108,000 kg of Akbare has been sold so far this year. ‘If we assume an average of Rs 200 per kilo, we have earned Rs 2.25 crore,’ says Poudel. The data on about 10,000 kilos sold individually is yet to come in and it is estimated that an additional Rs 2 million will be earned from that.

The rural municipality had allocated a budget of Rs 3 million for Akbare cultivation in the fiscal year 2081/082. Although a target of 1,000 ropanis was set, cultivation started in about 700 ropanis as it was the first year without trials. Out of the allocated amount, Rs 2 million was spent. Poudel said that initially the trials were conducted with seeds brought from Palpa and now local farmers have started producing seeds.

According to rural municipality chairman Yubaraj Adhikari, a ‘red diamond’ is now hanging in the fields that were barren for millet, corn or peas a few years ago. ‘This is not just a metaphor, but a symbol of the economic change seen in the lives of farmers,’ he says. According to him, the rural municipality has moved forward with a plan to make Akbare a permanent identity of Dordi. Rs 50-60 million can be earned annually. Preparations are underway to transport Akbare from Dordi to Kathmandu, Pokhara, Chitwan and Butwal.