spicing up the deal: cardamom and ginger...

Spicing Up the Deal: Cardamom and Ginger (CaGi)

September 2008 – August 2010

Project Evaluation Report

Mercy Corps Nepal

September, 2010

Project Evaluation Report- Spicing Up the Deal: Cardamom and Ginger (CaGi) – Artemis Great Kindrochit Quadrathlon, with co-financing from Mercy Corps and Nirdhan Utthan Bank, Ltd.

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Table of Contents

List of Abbreviations ..................................................................................................................................... 4

1. Situation Overview .................................................................................................................................... 5

2. Project Background ................................................................................................................................... 5

3. Purpose of the Evaluation ......................................................................................................................... 7

4. Evaluation Methodology ........................................................................................................................... 8

a. Semi-structured key informants interview (KII) & focus group discussion (FGD) ............................ 8

b. Technology Survey ............................................................................................................................ 8

c. Farmers Groups Survey ..................................................................................................................... 9

d. Cooperative Survey ........................................................................................................................... 9

5. Limitation of Study ................................................................................................................................ 9

6. Findings ............................................................................................................................................... 10

6.1 Impact brought to Ginger Farmers ................................................................................................... 10

6.1.1 Disease Management: ............................................................................................................... 11

6.1.2 Improved Production Practices: ................................................................................................. 12

6.1.3 Low Cost Storage: ...................................................................................................................... 13

6.1.4 Improved varieties of seed: ....................................................................................................... 14

6.1.5 Access to finance:....................................................................................................................... 15

6.1.6 Group Formation: ...................................................................................................................... 16

6.1.7 Collective marketing: ................................................................................................................. 16

6.1.8 Sales, profit and yield changes: .................................................................................................. 17

6.2 Challenges in Ginger Farming ........................................................................................................... 17

6.2.1 Disease management ................................................................................................................. 17

6.2.2 Low cost storage ........................................................................................................................ 17

6.2.3 Access to finance ........................................................................................................................ 18

6.2.4 Collective marketing .................................................................................................................. 18

6.3 Strengths, Limitations, Opportunities and Threats (SLOT) of Ginger Interventions ......................... 18

6.4 Replication of project-promoted farming practices by non-beneficiaries ginger farmers ............... 20

6.5 Impact brought to Cardamom Farmers ............................................................................................ 20

6.5.1 Improved practices .................................................................................................................... 21

6.5.2 Seedling quality .......................................................................................................................... 21


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6.5.3 Grading ....................................................................................................................................... 22

6.5.4 Group Formation ........................................................................................................................ 22

6.5.5 Collective Marketing .................................................................................................................. 23

6.5.5 Disease Management ................................................................................................................ 23

6.5.6 Drying Technique ....................................................................................................................... 24

6.5.7 Sales, profit and yield changes: .................................................................................................. 24

6.6.1 Collective marketing .................................................................................................................. 25

6.6.2 Disease Management ................................................................................................................ 25

6.6.3 Breaking the traditional farming practices ................................................................................ 25

6.6.4 Drying Technology ..................................................................................................................... 25

6.6.5 Availability of quality seeds........................................................................................................ 26

6.7 Strengths, Limitations, Opportunities and Threats (SLOT) of Cardamom Interventions .................. 26

6.8 Replication of farming practices by non-beneficiaries cardamom farmers ..................................... 27

6.8 Cooperative Activities ....................................................................................................................... 28

6.9 Farmers Group Activities .................................................................................................................. 30

7. Lessons learned ................................................................................................................................... 31

7.1Targeting ............................................................................................................................................ 32

7.2 Formation of groups and merged into Cooperatives ....................................................................... 32

7.3 Holistic approach of the project ....................................................................................................... 32

7.4 Parallel project of ‘Expanding Access to Finance” (EAF) ................................................................... 33

7.5 Replicable to other regions ............................................................................................................... 33

8. Recommendations: ............................................................................................................................. 33

8.1 Cardamom disease management ..................................................................................................... 33

8.2 Facilitate expanded access to quality seeds ..................................................................................... 33

8.3 Modification of improved drier ........................................................................................................ 34

8.4 Frequent monitoring at farmers field ............................................................................................... 34

8.5 Participation of farmers in learning program ................................................................................... 34

8.8 Facilitate Farmers Groups for Collective Marketing ......................................................................... 34

Annex I ........................................................................................................................................................ 36

Annex II ....................................................................................................................................................... 37

Annex III ...................................................................................................................................................... 38


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List of Abbreviations

CaGI Cardamom and Ginger

CDC Cardamom Development Center

CCI Chamber of Commerce and Industry

EAF Expanding Access to Finance

FGD Focus Group Discussion

GBP Great Britain Pound

KII Key Informant Interview

LCEAN Large Cardamom Entrepreneurs Association Nepal

LCS Low Cost Storage

NUBL Nirdhan Utthan Bank Limited

NGPTA Nepal Ginger Producers and Traders Association

NPR Nepalese Rupee

PIA Participatory Impact Assessment

SLOT Strengths, Limitations, Opportunities and Threats

VDC Village Development Committee


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1.

1. Situation Overview

The agriculture sector employs over 70% of Nepal’s economically active population –

particularly lower income households in rural areas - yet contributes only 39.2% of GDP (Gross

Domestic Product). Traditional, low-yielding cultivation methods, fragmented agricultural land

holdings, lack of information, and inadequate availability of improved technologies have

resulted in low agricultural and labor productivity, which in turn have limited the commercial

success of the sector despite Nepal’s geo-climatic advantages.

The cultivation of high-value spice crops, such as cardamom and ginger, has been increasing in

Nepal, particularly on marginal lands. Unfortunately, farmers have received relatively low

prices for their products from intermediaries due to inferior product quality and disorganized,

undifferentiated marketing strategies. These challenges have been aggravated by remoteness,

social exclusion, lack of access to information, and disorganization across the entire cardamom

and ginger industries.

2. Project Background

Mercy Corps began working in Nepal in 2005 in response to the country’s political turmoil and

its abject poverty levels. Mercy Corps Nepal’s goal is to strengthen, protect, and expand access

to productive livelihoods for the poor. Mercy Corps and partners operate projects in the areas

of agriculture and food security, financial services, disaster risk reduction, and youth

engagement. Its program helps approximately 250,000 Nepalese across the country annually.

In July 2007, Phoenix Fund supported a pilot project on Premium Large Cardamom, which was

successfully implemented in the Paanchthar district (July 2007 – September 2008). This was

later followed by a promising Phoenix Fund-supported ginger pilot project in Ilam and

Panchthar (May 2008 – April 2009). Looking at the successes of these pilot projects and the

potential of the cardamom value chain in Eastern Nepal, Mercy Corps followed these projects

with an Artemis Great Kindrochit Quadrathlon-supported project, called Spicing Up the Deal:

Cardamom and Ginger, or CaGi (September 2008 – August 2010). It was initially designed as a

cardamom project, but later was increased in scope to include ginger as well. The project

focuses on the Panchthar, Ilam and Dhankuta districts. The project is also implemented in

coordination with the Expanding Access to Finance project (Whole Planet Foundation,


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September 2008 – August 2011), which links CaGi farmers to agriculture-appropriate

microfinance via Nirdhan Utthan Bank, Ltd.

Cardamom and ginger are important commodities for Nepal’s economy: they are cultivated by

a high number of smallholder farmers, many of whom are members of traditionally

disadvantaged groups; have substantial profit potential, particularly for premium varieties; and,

can be farmed in an environmentally sustainable manner. Furthermore, these commodities also

have the potential for significant contributions to the national economy and/ or foreign

exchange earnings due to high demand in domestic and export markets in general and the

Indian market in particular. Additionally, both crops have the potential to involve women

substantially in cultivation and marketing; ginger has the potential to be inter-cropped with

existing common Nepali food production systems; and, cardamom is grown on marginal land

that is not generally suitable for other crops. As such, both cardamom and ginger fit Mercy

Corps Nepal’s definition of “high impact” crops.

Project Goal: Increase income and well-being amongst smallholder cardamom and ginger

farmers and their communities in the remote Eastern Highlands of Nepal

To achieve its goal, Mercy Corps along with its partners focused Spicing Up the Deal: Cardamom

and Ginger (CaGi) interventions predominantly at the production level and trade level.

At the production level: Increasing farmers’ collective bargaining power

Mercy Corps and its partners worked with 38 cardamom farmers’ groups and 33 ginger farmers’

groups to strengthen their organizational capacity; improve business skills; improve technical

practices in the areas of varietal selection, cultivation, disease management, and post-harvest

handling; and, forge links with traders, wholesalers and exporters by facilitating collective

marketing, information sharing, and contract farming. To promote premium product quality,

Mercy Corps encouraged cardamom farmer groups to improve primary processing functions

such as grading and small-batch drying; and, encouraged ginger farmers to utilize low-fiber

seed varieties, low-cost storage techniques, and enhanced post-harvest handling techniques.

Disease management training is provided for farmers of both crops, both to reduce farmer risk

and ensure product quality. Capacity building of input suppliers, combined with ‘seed banking’

arrangements, were also incorporated. Finally, Mercy Corps worked with a micro-finance

institution to link CaGi farmers groups to improve agricultural savings and loan products.

At the trade level: Increasing collective marketing and facilitating the creation of an enabling

environment


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Mercy Corps facilitated interaction between stakeholders at various levels - farmers, traders,

wholesalers, exporters, government representatives, members of the local and national media,

and local NGOs - to improve negotiation, coordination, and communication between these

value chain actors. Specifically, Mercy Corps has been working with trade associations so that

actors can collaborate and address issues that affect the entire value chain. Mercy Corps

facilitated the formation of the Large Cardamom Entrepreneurs’ Association of Nepal (LCEAN)

under a pilot project in December 2007. During the project period, Mercy Corps continued to

support the Association’s effort to gain wider representation, advocate for improved trade

conditions, standardize grades and sales practices, and improve links with key export markets.

Similarly, Mercy Corps worked with the Nepal Ginger Producers and Traders Association

(NGPTA) to promote premium quality ginger, initiate links with export markets, and advocate

for reduced barriers to trade. To date, these partnerships have resulted in the abolition of the

Fawa system, which required farmers to provide 41 kilograms of cardamom for every 40

kilograms sold; have led to the reduction of various ginger and cardamom trade taxes levied by

identity-based movements in the East; and, have supported ongoing efforts to develop Codes

of Conduct (for ginger and cardamom) and industry-wide grading standards (for cardamom).

3. Purpose of the Evaluation

The purpose of this internal evaluation is to evaluate the effectiveness, impact and efficiency of

the project as well as to assess project performance in terms of the relevance of results,

sustainability, shared responsibility and accountability which also inform the plans and activities

of future interventions.

Specifically, the evaluation aims at answering the following questions.

1. What are the major impacts brought about by the project to the farmers, traders,

exporters and other value chain actors in relation to its targeted goal and objective?

2. Does available evidence suggest that farmers are using good agricultural practices (and

improved agricultural practices) in Cardamom and Ginger farming?

3. Does available evidence suggest that a portion of farmers are marketing their crops

collectively, and by doing so gaining more bargaining power (as evidenced through

higher prices)? If so, approximately what percentages of farmers are doing this?

4. Is there evidence to suggest that non-beneficiary farmers are replicating practices

promoted by the project in neighboring areas?


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5. Do the farmers feel the benefit of savings and credit products through NUBL a micro-

finance institution? What impacts have these products had?

6. Are the cooperatives formed under the project functioning effectively?

7. Was the project implementation strategy appropriate to achieve set-forth project goal?

8. What are the strengths, limitations, opportunities and threats (SLOT) of the project?

9. What are the lessons learned and recommendations for guiding future projects?

4. Evaluation Methodology

The evaluation included both quantitative and qualitative methods. The internal evaluation was

led and facilitated by Mercy Corps Nepal’s Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) unit.

The following data collection methods are used to address the evaluation questions:

a. Semi-structured key informants interview (KII) & focus group discussion (FGD)

Evaluators used the discussion checklist to facilitate interviews with traders, exporters and

other value chain actors, and used participatory techniques in focus groups with beneficiary

farmers and MFI clients.

In focus group discussions, the Participatory Impact Assessment (PIA) methodology was used,

which is an adaptation of the PIA Guidelines produced by the Feinstein International Center at

Tufts University under the Impact Assessment of Innovative Humanitarian Assistance Projects

initiative funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. PIAs are derived from Participatory

Rural Appraisals to measure retrospectively the impact of humanitarian and development

projects on people’s lives.

The central feature of the assessment is the analysis of the relative importance assigned by

beneficiaries to various impacts attributed to the project inputs and activities through pair-wise

ranking exercises and a modified SLOT.

b. Technology Survey

The survey instrument included questions related to Ginger and Cardamom Farming Practices.

In total, 251 farmers (133-Cardamom, 118-Ginger) were interviewed; these farmers were

affiliated to 9 cardamom and 9 ginger farmers groups, respectively. The farmers groups were


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selected in such a way so as to ensure the representation different constituencies with regard

to gender roles, geographical proximity, land use, and volume of production of the selected

commodities.

c. Farmers Groups Survey

The farmers groups selected for the Technology Survey described above also provided

information for the Farmers Group Survey. This survey tried to assess group operations and

activities.

d. Cooperative Survey

The Cooperative Survey consisted of questions to assess activities performed by the

cooperatives to which participating farmers groups belonged (note: two of these cooperatives

were also formed by the project, while three were pre-existing). The president or secretary of

each cooperative supported by the project was interviewed. Five cooperatives were included in

the survey.

This report will present and analyze data gathered through qualitative and quantitative

methods to evaluate project activities. In focused group discussions, facilitators asked

participants to indentify “impacts” because of the project. This process helps to identify the

changes that participants found to be most important, allowing interviewers to ascertain both

intended and un-intended changes. To further see how the project impacted income and

livelihoods, the evaluation team selected the community-identified impacts and then

conducted a “pair-wise ranking” to see the relative significance of the different elements.

5. Limitation of Study

Although the evaluation has included qualitative and quantitative methods through FGDs and

Key Informants' Interview and Sample Surveys, the responses of the FGD and KII participants

and survey respondents may not be completely free from their personal biases towards the

project.

Furthermore, this evaluation was carried out near the end of the project period, yet before

harvesting the second cropping season that was supported within the project period, so a

comparative analysis could not be done regarding changes in production and income as

compared to the late 2009 cropping season. However, production and sales data is available


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from the late 2009 harvest season, and the results from the analysis of this data is described

herein to complement the findings of this participatory evaluation.

6. Findings

6.1 Impact brought to Ginger Farmers

Participants expressed the importance of ginger production increases, and resultant income

increases, brought about by the project. Even in the Ilam district, the southernmost project

district in the Mechi Zone, which is already quite well known for good ginger production and

marketing techniques, participants described significant productivity and land-under-cultivation

increases as a result of the project.

Project impacts identified by the participants are listed in the table below. The table also shows

the frequency of the groups reporting these impacts, and also the frequency of these impacts

being reported as the first or second priority. As can be seen, the project brought about a wide

variety of impacts with varying degrees of perceived importance.

Table 1. Impacts identified by the Ginger Farmers

Impacts Number of Groups mentioning impact

Number of groups prioritizing impact

1st 2nd

Collective Marketing 1 0 0

Disease Management 5 3 1

Access to finance 3 0 0

Group Formation 2 1 1

Improved Practices 5 0 2

Knowledge on Ginger (IEC materials) 1 0 0

Low Cost Storage 5 0 1

Quality Seed (Low-Fiber) 4 2 2

A number of impacts were mentioned regularly yet never ranked highly. This should not

decrease their importance, particularly if mentioned by a large percentage of groups. For

instance, five out of five groups mentioned “Low Cost Storage” as an important impact but only

one group ranked it as a first or second priority. The fact that no groups ranked this as the

highest impact should not, however, diminish its importance to beneficiary groups. In fact,

many beneficiaries stated that, due to low cost storage technology introduced by the project,

farmers were better able to store the ginger seed for upcoming cultivation season (as opposed


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to having to buy a new batch of seeds at high prices during the plantation season). They also

reported that the storage facilities retain moisture well, so there was no significant loss of

weight of the ginger seed during storage.

6.1.1 Disease Management:

Disease management is one of the highly

reported impacts brought about by the

project. All farmers groups reported that

they attempted treatment for fungal and

bacterial diseases and insects attacks that

they had never used before. By using

these bio-pesticides, diseases were moderately controlled. Farmers also reported that there is

a high occurrence of disease in ginger over time, which is deterrence to production. For this

reason, disease management inputs and knowledge provided by the project were crucial for

farmers.

The survey results show that 79% of farmers are using Disease and Insect Management

Techniques in some of their fields, while 10% are using these techniques fully in all of their field.

In contrast, 11% of farmers are not using any disease or pest control techniques for their ginger

plants.

The findings also show that 49% of farmers conducted seed treatment partially before

plantation; 14% treated all of their ginger seeds before plantation; and, 37% did not treat their

seeds before plantation. However, 81% of farmers partially treated plants and rhizomes after

harvesting the “mother seed”1 (Bruni) mid-way through the growing season; 8% partially

treated their crops after harvesting the “mother seed”; and, 11% did not treat their crops after

harvsting the “mother seed.” This means that 90% of farmers used some kind of project-

promoted disease and pest management practices at some point in the growing season.

1 Called “Bruni” or “Mau” in Nepali. The project supported the harvesting and sale of the ginger mother seed, which is no longer

required for plant and rhizome growth after a certain point in the growing season, as a means of increasing incomes while providing a second opportunity for disease and pest management treatments.


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Although a limited numbers of farmers are fully practicing disease management techniques in

all of their fields during both key stages of the growing season, the fact that 90% of farmers are

using seed treatment and/ or second treatment practices at some point in the growing season

is a significant accomplishment given that none of the farmers were practicing any sort of

systematic disease or pest managemnet prior to the project. This means that the project was

able to advance disease management practices, and therefore increase yields and incomes,

throughout the project area.

Similarly, one group shared that provision of IEC (information, education and communication)

materials with regard to ginger farming was very important to identify diseases and its

treatment.

“Disease management is very important. If disease is not treated, then how we could get better production?”

– Male, Parigaun, Illam

“Trainings on disease management were very informative and fruitful. It helped me a lot”. -Male, Syabrang, Phidim

6.1.2 Improved Production Practices:

The project promoted improved production practices, sometimes called “production

technology,” including weeding, mulching, drainage, bedding, and other practices (such as

intercropping, varietal selection, “mother seed” interim harvesting, water application) to

improve ginger productivity and yields. Most of the farmers are now harvesting the “mother

seed” as described above. These improved farming practices were identified by all of the

groups as a significant impact, while two out of five groups ranked it as second priority impact

to increase the production of ginger. As per participants’ comments, the project helped farmers

to understand and implement improved production practices in a systematic way.


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The survey results also support the view of farmers participating in the PIA. As per the results,

almost all farmers used practices like weeding, mulching, drainage, bedding, manure

application, and “mother seed” harvesting, while a sub-set of farmers also used additional

improved practices related to grading/ sorting (37% partially and 8% fully).

“It was through improved practices that I was able to increase my production. It would not have been possible without technical support from Mercy Corps”.

- Male, Syabrang, Phidim

6.1.3 Low Cost Storage:

All farmers participating in the PIA expressed

the introduction of Low Cost Storage techniques

as an impact, although only one group

prioritized it as a second priority impact. Most

of the farmers are storing ginger in the

improved pit introduced by the project,

especially for plantation purposes2. Contrary to

the intention of the project, none of participants found that storing ginger to sell in the “off-

season” (at the time when ginger market prices are higher) led to higher sales prices, although

some found that storing ginger allowed them to sell ginger seeds to other farmers in the

subsequent plantation season. Most of the participants expressed that ginger stored through

this technique retains moisture content well as compared to traditional storage techniques, and

that it promotes seedling germination comparatively earlier. However, there was also a view

that if farmers don’t follow proper storage construction techniques as promoted by the project

there is a high chance of fungal infection in ginger seed during storage.

As per the survey result, 57% of the farmers stored some of their ginger seed using improved

storage techniques introduced by the project, while 13% stored all of their ginger seeds using

low cost storage techniques introduced by the project. The remaining 30% stored ginger seed

using traditional methods.

2 The project introduced a low cost storage technique that involved a lined and covered pit produced by a bamboo

shade.


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The success of this activity area is also evidenced by the number of farmers replicating low-cost

storage techniques on their own, which stood at 5 in the first year and 70 in the second year

totaling 75 as of the end of the project.

“The low cost storage technique ensured better quality of seeds. Apart from plantation, I also sold some quantities of seed ginger, for which I got a better price”.

–Female, Jil, Pashupatinagar

6.1.4 Improved varieties of seed:

Four out of five ginger farmers groups reported the provision of improved (low-fiber) seed

varieties as an important factor to increase the productivity of ginger. The majority of the

participants reported that low-fiber ginger seed, introduced and provided by the project,

resulted in better production as compared to local varieties, which in turn increased farmer

profit margins.

The results of production data collection and analysis carried out towards the end of the project

period also support these results. Before the intervention, farmers traditionally cultivated local

ginger seed, which produced at a seed:crop ratio of 1:3 (three kilograms of fresh ginger

harvested for every one kilogram of seed planted). Realizing this situation, Mercy Corps

introduced an improved variety of ginger seed (low fiber ginger, which also has higher market

demand and better value added processing potential. This new seed, together with improved

farming practices (weeding, mulching, drainage etc), resulted in an average seed:crop ratio of

1:6.

The project distributed 22,237 kg. (12,177 kg. in 2009 and 10,060 kg. in 2010) of low-fiber

ginger seeds to farmers through farmers group networks linked to project-facilitated,

cooperative-run seed banking arrangements. In 2010, farmers groups were able to re-distribute

26,645 kg of low-fiber ginger seed that had been returned by farmers via seed banking

arrangements from the previous season, meaning that farmers groups were able to “bank” and

redistribute 14,468 kg. seed in addition to the 12,177 kg. provided by the project in 2009. This

indicates a high probability of sustainability for ginger seed banking arrangements, which will

continue to grow and reach additional farmers and land units over time. However, seed banking

must nonetheless be recognized as an interim solution on the road to fully commercialized,

cash-based seed supply chains.


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“It wouldn’t be possible for us to get low fiber ginger seed if Mercy Corps had not been here with us. Before, I used to cultivate local seed. By planting this seed, I was able to increase production much more than before.”

-Male, Syabrang, Phidim

6.1.5 Access to finance:

Access to finance, which is running through Nirdhan Utthan Bank Limited (NUBL) under a

parallel project of Mercy Corps (Expanding Access to Finance in the Eastern Hills), was reported

as an important benefit for farmers groups members. Improved access to appropriate savings

and loan products allowed farmers to take loans at lower interest rates as compared to other

microfinance institutions and informal lending channels. Farmers were also happy with the

three month repayment period, which they perceived to be better suited to agriculture.

Further, because microfinance was provided through a Self Reliant Group methodology,

members also benefited by the 6% interest rate spread that was retained within the group3.

Members who took loans from NUBL invested the money to buy more ginger seeds and carry

out other complementary income generating activities. If participating farming households had

not had access to this facility, they would have had to borrow money from local informal

money lenders or local businesspeople at considerably higher interest rates, often having to

commit to repaying these informal lenders in kind (in commodity) through the dahadani

system4. As of mid-August 2010, 546 loan clients under the project had taken loans amounting

to NPR 14,073,000 (GBP 123,448), of which NPR 4,950,103 (GBP 43,421) has been repaid and

the remaining is outstanding5. Repayment rate stands at 100% to date.

Table 2. Commodity-wise borrower and loan disbursed information

District Commodity Group

No. of Group Members

Total Loan clients

Loan Disbursed

Loan Repaid

Loan Outstanding

Dhankuta

Ginger 2 54

57 1,350,000 493,750 856,250 Cardamom 1 15

3 The Self Reliant Group (SRG) model allows the SRG to take a wholesale loan from the microfinance institution, set

its own interest rate, and retain the spread between the MFI’s interest rate and the group’s internal interest rate for the benefit of the group. Most of the SRG’s in the project area opted for a 6% interest rate spread, the funds from which they kept as additional group savings, loan and operating capital. 4 An informal lending practice common in rural agricultural communities in Nepal. Informal lenders provide loans

to farmers at high interest rates (generally 60% per annum), and then accept repayment in the form of agricultural commodities, limiting the ability of farmers to sell their own commodities at market rates. 5 These figures will continue to grow over time. By mid-September lending has already increased to over GBP

140,000 due to new clients.


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Ilam

Ginger 14 328

328 9,408,000 3,542,315 5,865,685 Cardamom 3 26

Panchthar

Ginger 7 72

161 3,315,000 914,038 2,400,962 Cardamom 17 244

44 739 546 1,407,3000 4,950,103 9,122,897

“NUBL guided me to do regular savings. With the money saved, I’m planning to invest in my children’s education. ”

- Female, Bagkhor- Illam

6.1.6 Group Formation:

Two out of five ginger groups interviewed expressed that group formation was one of the

significant impacts of the project: one group ranked it as the most important impact, and

another group ranked it as the second most important impact. Participants expressed that

without forming a group, they would not have improved ginger farming as they are doing now,

and would not have been able to correctly utilize project inputs from Mercy Corps and NUBL.

Skeptical of “lead farmer”-led programming, Mercy Corps provided improved varieties of ginger

seed, conducted trainings on business planning, collective marketing, and disease management,

and supported exposure visits through group-based methodologies. Participants further shared

that they are conducting group meeting regularly, which provide opportunities for peer support

and information sharing. Of the groups formed by the project, 5 ginger farmers’ groups and

one cardamom farmers’ group are now formally registered In District Agriculture Development

Office. Many more are on the way to being formally registered soon.

“I’m proud of being a member of a group. It seems like a family and, without this, it wouldn’t be possible for me to get lot of information on ginger.”

-Male, Bagkhor, Illam

6.1.7 Collective marketing:

One ginger group interviewed reported that collective marketing was the most important

impact of the project. Due to collective marketing, the group was able to sell their produce in

bulk, fetching higher price in the market and at the same time saving transportation cost and

reducing other transactions costs. However, through the survey, 75% of farmers reported that

they are still not selling ginger collectively, despite encouragement by the project, because local

collectors often make door-to-door buying trips that the farmers find more convenient. On the

other hand, 25% of farmers reported that they are selling their ginger through collective

marketing channels, which are increasing their bargaining power.


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6.1.8 Sales, profit and yield changes:

The participatory evaluation findings for ginger described above can be augmented by data

from sales and profit analyses carried out through the project monitoring system. For ginger

farmers, this data shows net profit differences NPR 18,373,246 (GBP 161,169) between baseline

and end line for ginger, which is equivalent to an average profit increase of NPR 45,478 (GBP

399) per farming household. This was obtained from total sales of NPR 26,685,872 (GBP

234,087) and total profit of NRP 22,787,012 (GBP 199,886), averaging income (sales) of NPR

66,054 (GBP 579) and profits of NPR 56,403 (GBP 495). In terms of land-under-cultivation and

yield, the project resulted in 104 more ropani (5.5 hectares) of land being used for ginger

cultivation (650 ropani, or 34 hectares, against a baseline of 546 ropani, or 28 hectares). In

terms of yield, the project resulted in increases of 465,499 kg. or 465.5 MT (854.5 MT against a

baseline of 389 MT, averaging 84% yield increases per ropani). With regard to land cultivation

size and input (seed) quantity, ginger was planted on a minimum 1/2 ropani to a maximum of

10 ropani of land, with a minimum of 40 kg of seed to a maximum of 1,640 kg of seed used per

farmer. Farmers were able to harvest fresh ginger an average of six times more than the

amount of seed planted. The results also demonstrate that the probability of sustainability for

project outcomes in the ginger sub-sector is high, and justify continued investment in the ginger

sub-sector, especially considering the results were achieved through a low-cost project (GBP

109,000).

6.2 Challenges in Ginger Farming

6.2.1 Disease management

During the project period, Mercy Corps and partners conducted trainings on disease

management for farmers. Rhizome rot, a fungal disease, is very common in ginger. Farmers

were recommended to treat this with organic fungicides, such as Trichoderma powder. Beside

this, a bacterial disease also exists and for this Streptocycline/Bacteriomycin was

recommended. Thus, before treating diseased ginger plants, diseases need to be identified

correctly and must then be treated with appropriate medicines in the correct order. But,

farmers are still confused about this and some are treating diseases with both antibacterial and

antifungal medicines at the same time. Farmers also reported that while seeking medicines

from a local agro-vet agent, they were recommended different varieties of medicines for the

same disease (mostly synthetic products and not bio-fungicides or organic pesticides). This led

to confusion among them. Some farmers are not following seed treatment at the time of

“mother seed” harvesting, which is highly recommended.

6.2.2 Low cost storage


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There was no significant challenge in this activity area. However, given that the plantation

period is sometimes delayed by rain patterns, storing ginger for a longer time will result in

seedling development, risking fungal infection. This information was discussed during the

project period, since the project recommended storage for 3-6 months only to take advantage

of market trends; however, some farmers may attempt to store the seeds for longer periods, of

their own accord, to resell as seed or to use for the following season’s plantation. This is fine,

but if farmers don’t follow the correct methodology in constructing the storage units, there is a

risk of fungal infection which could damage ginger seed.

6.2.3 Access to finance

Microfinance activities targeted women only. Some male members of the groups expressed the

opinion that microfinance could make their families more dependent, and therefore they would

prefer that their wives not take loans. This is one of the reasons that some female members

were hesitant to take loans. Ultimately it is the decision of each household whether to continue

as microfinance group members or not; however, enrollment continues to increase as of this

evaluation.

6.2.4 Collective marketing

The survey shows that the majority of ginger farmers (75%) are not carrying out collective

marketing activities. The main challenge was lack of coordination between the farmers. They

know very well that they can obtain higher prices through collective marketing, but they still did

not coordinate with one another to carry out collective marketing due to individual cash flow

needs of each household, and due to the presence of door-to-door collectors buying produce.

This is also influenced by the continuing presence of the dahadani system, which requires that

farmers repay their loans in produce, which effectively precludes them from participating in

collective marketing. It is expected that, over time, as access to formal financial services

increases and the benefits of collective marketing become more apparent, the percentage of

farmers marketing their crops through collective marketing will increase.

6.3 Strengths, Limitations, Opportunities and Threats (SLOT) of Ginger Interventions

In all PIA sessions, the evaluation team performed a SLOT at the end of each session.

Participants were asked to brainstorm about positive and negative aspects of the project, and

these were later categorized into a standard SLOT format.

Table 3: Combined SLOT that shows items that were most often mentioned from PIA by the

Ginger Farmers and stakeholders


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Strengths

Limitations

Low cost storage which ensured good quality of

seed

Group formation helped a lot to access facilities

Trainings on disease management, business

planning

Collective marketing increased bargaining power

Low-fiber ginger seed gave good production as

compared to local seed

Packaging ginger in crates helped produce to

reach markets without breakage and rot,

resulting in higher prices

Microfinance products linked to farmers by the

project were very flexible and helpful

Improved cultivation practices

Increased production

Increased income

Received seeds, organic pesticides

Group helped to share knowledge

Need more supply of improved variety of ginger

seed (low-fiber)

Still need technical support and information for

disease management

Need additional support for collective marketing

and marketing management

Periodic monitoring is needed at farmer’s level

Need soil test for ginger cultivation

Program period should be extended

Need more demonstration and information

dissemination

Opportunities

Threats

High demand for low-fiber ginger seed

Farmers are enthusiastic about cultivating more

ginger

Farmers groups are continuing to merge into

Cooperatives

Female members from the farmers groups are

continuing to enroll in NUBL

Farmers group members are increasing of their

own accord

Have sufficient land to cultivate

Market for ginger is good

Collective marketing will increase profit further

Drought

Fungal disease

Bacterial disease

Market access

Degrading soil quality

Low availability of quality seeds

Lack of coordination between farmers


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6.4 Replication of project-promoted farming practices by non-beneficiaries ginger farmers

Group discussions with non-beneficiary ginger farmers revealed that beneficiary farmers

supported by the project are sharing their knowledge with neighboring non-beneficiary farmers

groups. Non-beneficiary participants also shared that they are well aware of Mercy Corps

interventions around their areas. Gradually, some farmers not affiliated with beneficiary

farmers group also started to attend project trainings, which they found useful.

Furthermore, members of other farmers group are seeking technical support from the farmers

supported by the project, especially in the areas of disease management, plantation

techniques, and low cost storage techniques. While non-beneficiary farmers groups expressed

their desire to have been included in the project, they also commented that they are

benefitting by adopting farming techniques promoted by the project, which are relatively easy

to replicate. This shows that the project also had a noticeable impact on non-beneficiary

groups, helping them to replicate practices promoted by the project in neighboring areas.

6.5 Impact brought to Cardamom Farmers

Focus group discussions using the PIA technique were held among four cardamom farmers

groups. Due to overlapping schedule and time constraints, two FGDs could not be done as

planned and were done through casual interaction instead. The PIA result show that farmers

reported impacts due to grading, improved production practices, collective marketing, group

formation, information provided on quality of seedlings, disease management and drying. All

farmers group (4 out of 4) reported that grading made the most impact, leading to higher

market prices and increased incomes. Farmers groups also appreciated knowledge received

regarding the importance of improved production practices and quality seedlings for higher

yield. Likewise, the project also contributed to collective marketing, increasing bargaining

power.

The table below summarizes project impacts as identified by participants. The table then shows

the number of times that the impacts were mentioned, and the number of times the impacts

were chosen as the first priority or second priority.

Table 4. Impacts identified by the Cardamom Farmers

Impacts

Number of Groups mentioning impact

Number of groups prioritizing impact

1st 2nd

Collective Marketing 3 0 2


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Disease Management 1 0 0

Drying Technique 1 0 0

Grading 4 0 1

Group Formation 3 1 1

Improved Practices 4 1 3

Seed 3 2 1

6.5.1 Improved practices

Despite the fact that cardamom is a high value cash crop, farming practices in the past followed

traditional patterns. Often times, due to the fact that cardamom is a perennial crop that is

grown on marginal, forested land, farmers would rarely visit their fields. However, over time,

recognizing the importance of cardamom farming to household livelihood strategies in the

Eastern hills and mountains, farmers have increasingly expressed a willingness to manage

cardamom gardens as they would other crops. Yet, in practice, a very low number of farmers

have actually begun using basic good agricultural practices such as weeding, use of manure and

irrigation, and most continue to use cultivation practices brought with seedlings from

neighboring states of India 60-70 years, although India itself is moving strongly towards

Government-supported improved production practices. In recent years, the rising threat of

cardamom disease is creating greater awareness of the threat that poor management of

gardens poses to cardamom-based incomes. As a result of these changing trends, and

encouraged by the project, all farmers groups expressed a commitment to follow good

agricultural practices to increase production and minimize disease.

6.5.2 Seedling quality

Three out of four groups reported that information provided on the relationship between

improved varieties of seedlings and good production had a significant impact; two groups

ranked this as the most significant impact, and one ranked this as the second most significant

impact. Observation in field sites also shows that cardamom plants are affected by disease,

gradually decreasing production in fields that are not well managed, and farmers are quite

concerned. The recent trend shows that cardamom production is going down, whereas its price

is soaring up due to increasing demand and decreasing supply in the market. Therefore, farmers

are interested in planting healthy seedlings for better production rather than replanting the

infected rhizome in the same field. Participants commented that the project has made them

realize the importance of healthy seedlings to increase cardamom production, and to obtain

quality seedlings the farmers appear ready to invest a large amount of their own resources.


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6.5.3 Grading

Grading is one of the important impacts

that all farmers groups realized due to the

project intervention; while this was

mentioned as an impact by all groups, only

one group ranked it within the top two

most significant impacts.

Before project interventions, farmers used

to sell cardamom without sorting, cleaning and tail-cutting. Farmers were also not aware about

the relationship between grading, tail-cutting, and wholesale prices. Due to this, their produce

was fetching low farm-gate prices. In response to this, Mercy Corps introduced grading as an

improved primary processing function and encouraged farmers to follow this practice so that

their produce could fetch a higher price in the market. Farmers were also provided with grading

sieves (designed by the project) and trained on their use. Later, farmers started to grade

cardamom pods harvested and received a higher price for higher grade cardamom as compared

to lower grade cardamom; farmers reported a NPR 2,000 (GBP 18) difference in sales price per

40 kg. between these higher and lower grades. Additionally, farmers also reported increased

bargaining power while selling higher grades to traders.

The traders in the district headquarters of Panchthar district also agreed that, due to the

project, farmers are bringing graded cardamom to market, for which traders are providing a

higher price as compared to other non-graded cardamom.

The survey results reveal that 57% of participating farmers used grading techniques for some of

their produce, while 4% used grading techniques for all of their produce; 39% of farmers did not

use this technique. As the majority of farmers (over 60%) tried it at least for some of their

produce, and have experienced the benefits of higher prices and improved bargaining power,

participants reported that more and more farmers are expressing a desire to grade their

cardamom in the future.

“It is Mercy Corps who taught us about grading. It really did make a difference in the price between graded and non-graded cardamom.”

-Male, Basbotte, Sidin

6.5.4 Group Formation


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Three out of four cardamom groups interviewed identified group formation as an important

impact of the project; one group ranked this as the most significant impact, while another

group ranked this as the second most significant impact.

Farmers reported that groups enabled them to share information on farming practices while

enabling them to access shared inputs and processing equipment. Group membership also

allowed them to participate in exposure visits to learn about cardamom cultivation, while

reducing competition among farmers and encouraging more collaboration. Group membership

also allowed farmers to sell cardamom collectively, which led to higher prices.

“The exposure visit was like a platform where I learned everything about cardamom. If I was not involved in group, I would not have gotten this opportunity.”

-Male, Nangin, Aakashe

6.5.5 Collective Marketing

Collective marketing was reported by three

farmers groups as a significant project impact; it

was prioritized as the second most significant

impact by two groups. Collective marketing led

to higher unit prices, and reduced transactions

costs. It also increased the bargaining power of

farmers with traders. Despite these many

advantages of collective marketing, survey results show that only 17% of farmers sold all of

their cardamom produce collectively, while 44% of farmers sold some of their produce through

collective marketing; 39% of farmers sold produce to local traders individually.

“It is through collective marketing that I am able to receive a higher price of cardamom than before. It has also increased our negotiation skills with traders.”

-Male, Basebotte, Sidin

6.5.5 Disease Management

One farmers group reported disease management as a significant impact of the project. Despite

the fact that disease is increasing in cardamom growing regions, the survey illustrates that

farmers are not yet taking this threat as seriously as they should, and most are not applying

disease management techniques. As the threat of disease increases, farmers are

enthusiastically anticipating support from the government and other organizations to

recommend appropriate disease control measures so that their investments and inputs are not


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put in jeopardy. Project-supported demonstration plots in some areas have increased hope

among famers that disease can be controlled through improved management practices.

6.5.6 Drying Technique

Drying techniques introduced by the project were identified by one group as an important

project impact, although due to the high cost and shared ownership complications of

collectively owned driers the project only introduced four such units (while modifying five other

existing dryers). These dryers were found to produce higher quality (better tasting, higher

weight, better colored) cardamom, leading to higher market prices. Four improved dryers were

supported by the project, and technical support was continued during the project period. Since

a very limited number of improved dryer was in place, only a few farmers had the opportunity

to utilize these facilities. The survey revealed that 15% (Partially-9%, Fully-6%) of farmers are

using improved dryers. The farmers who dried cardamom through improved dryers reported

that it results in a good (more purple) color and higher weight as compared to traditional

dryers. Similarly, drying in improved dryers consumes 48% less fuel wood after heating and

exerts less smoke. In contrast, while interacting with wholesalers, they expressed the opinion

that produce dried in improved dryers can be stored for a shorter period of time due to its

slightly higher moisture content.

6.5.7 Sales, profit and yield changes:

The participatory evaluation findings for cardamom described above can be augmented by data

from sales and profit analyses carried out through the project monitoring system. For

cardamom farmers, this data shows net profit differences NPR 1,236,258 (GBP 10,845) between

baseline and end line, which is equivalent to an average profit increase of NPR 2,592 (GBP 23)

per farming household. This was obtained from total sales of NPR 12,019,323 (GBP 105,433)

and total profit of NRP 6,474,173 (GBP 56,790), averaging income (sales) of NPR 25,198 (GBP

221) and profits of NPR 13,573 (GBP 120). In terms of land-under-cultivation and yield, the

project resulted in 478 more ropani (25.6 hectares) of land being used for cardamom cultivation

(2,919 ropani, or 153.6 hectares, against a baseline of 2,441 ropani, or 128.5 hectares). Yields,

however, actually declined by 54% due to the combined effects of disease, which was beyond

the scope of the project to influence because, as a perennial crop, disease can only be

controlled through replanting and improved management practices, requiring approximately

five years before results can be seen. Cardamom is planted by each farmer on a minimum of

one ropani of land to a maximum 30 ropani of land, with harvest ranging from 7-320 kg in 2009

(note: high land use and low yields per land unit are due to the fact that cardamom is grown on

sloped, highly marginal forest land).


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On one hand, these results demonstrate the impact of the project in that sales and profits

increased despite declining yields; but, on the other hand, the results show that it is more

difficult to bring about significant income changes through cardamom within a project period

due to the perennial nature of the crop. And, compared to Mercy Corps’ previous cardamom

project, which brought about profit increases of 25% - 60% per farmer, the results are not as

encouraging due to rising disease prevalence. Yet, what is clear is that cardamom disease

management remains a huge challenge, and that continued investments in these areas are

required to act as a kind of disaster risk reduction effort (to protect cardamom-based incomes)

while also having the potential to increase yields and profits due to soaring market prices as

supply is reduced.

6.6 Challenges in Cardamom Farming

6.6.1 Collective marketing

The study reveals that the majority of the farmers are carrying out collective marketing only

partially or not at all. The farmers are well aware of the benefits of collective marketing, but

commented that previous loans taken under the dahadani system had precluded them from

marketing their produce through their group.

6.6.2 Disease Management

Disease has become a major threat for cardamom farmers, and without cardamom these

farmers’ livelihoods is under threat. Farmers have already spent nearly 60-70 years cultivating

cardamom since their ancestors brought seedlings from Sikkim, India and began cultivation. In

recent years, disease in cardamom is becoming more rampant, causing considerable crop loss

in 2009. This indicates the importance of investing in further cardamom interventions to

prevent further loss of income.

6.6.3 Breaking the traditional farming practices

Farmers realized the importance of improved practices for cardamom cultivation after the

project; yet, the majority of farmers are still following many of the practices introduced by their

ancestors. This is quickly becoming a challenge for cardamom production as disease prevalence

increases.

6.6.4 Drying Technology

Farmers perceived that new drying technologies introduced by the project had many

advantages, but these technologies also had disadvantages that reduced uptake. Farmers


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reported that the improved dryers consumed too much fuel wood during pre-heating, although

they consumed less fuel wood after heating and do not heat equally. Recognizing this, and also

recognizing the challenges of collective asset management, the project stopped short of

recommending these improved dryers widely; it is Mercy Corps’ intention to carry out

individualized action research on household-level, low-cost improved dryers in the future.

6.6.5 Availability of quality seeds

Farmers reported that availability of improved varieties of seed (seedling/ rhizome) is lacking,

due to which they have a compulsion to plant/ replant the same seedlings and rhizomes again.

They fear that new plants grown later will be infected with disease (in fact, this is likely if

farmers replant rhizomes).

6.7 Strengths, Limitations, Opportunities and Threats (SLOT) of Cardamom Interventions

In all PIA group sessions, the evaluation team performed a SLOT at the end of each session.

Participants were asked to brainstorm positive and negative aspects of the project

interventions on cardamom farming households, and these were later categorized into a

standard SLOT format.

Table 5. Combined SLOT that shows items that were most often mentioned by Cardamom

Farmers and Stakeholders

Strengths Limitations

Graded cardamom fetched a higher price

Group formation helped a lot to access facilities

and information, and to improve collaboration

Information shared on improved varieties of

seeds

Collective marketing increased bargaining power

Improved cultivation practices

Cooperative formation and its facilities

Need reliable supply of improved variety of

seeds or rhizomes

Need more technical support for disease

management

Need to include all group members in trainings,

exposure visits

Periodic monitoring is needed at farmer’s level

Need soil test for cardamom cultivation


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Need sprinkles, pipes for irrigation facilities

Need more improved driers

Request more field-based demonstration

trainings

Opportunities Threats

High demand of improved varieties of seed

Farmers groups are continuing to merge into

Cooperatives, and farmers group membership

keeps increasing

Female members from the groups continuing to

enroll in NUBL

Have sufficient marginal land to cultivate

cardamom

Collective marketing will increase profit further

Cardamom is a high value commodity in the

market, and the price is going up

Natural disasters like drought

Diseases

Soil quality

Lack of availability of quality seeds

6.8 Replication of farming practices by non-beneficiaries cardamom farmers

Group discussions were held with non-beneficiary farmers around the periphery of the project

areas. From this interaction, it was revealed that farmers are well aware of Mercy Corps

intervention in adjoining cardamom farmers groups. They know that Mercy Corps has provided

grading sieves, and that grading can bring higher prices. However, there was limited uptake of

improved practices promoted by the project among non-beneficiaries. In a nutshell, although

non-beneficiary farmers are well aware of project interventions, non-beneficiaries farmers are

not benefitting from the project as they are cultivating cardamom based on their own

experiences and knowledge gained through ancestors. However, non-beneficiary farmers are

enthusiastic to learn new farming practices in the future.


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6.8 Cooperative Activities

Altogether, five cooperatives were supported during the project period. Under the project,

cooperative members were given training on business planning and collective marketing as part

of capacity building. The project also conducted an exposure visit for the cooperatives members

to Ilam, where they learned about disease management, plantation and improved practices.

Apart from these activities, the project helped cooperatives to link with traders, envisaging

cooperatives as a point of contact between the farmers and traders. In addition, two members

of Gautam Buddha Ginger Produce Cooperative Ltd. were deployed as technicians to support

farmers on disease management. Out of five cooperative, two were established during the

project period. To date, 482 members from 16 farmers groups have been merged into five

cooperatives, and additional cooperatives are in the process of registration. Farmers group and

cooperative membership continues to grow over time, and four of the five cooperatives have

also registered as savings and credit cooperatives.

Table 6. Cooperatives Profile

S/N Cooperatives Name Districts VDCs Establishment Date

# of members to date

# of farmers group affiliated to

1 Shree Srijana Ag. Cooperative Ltd.

Panchthar Sidin 19-Sep-08 66 3

2 Shree Milemitto Ag. Cooperative Ltd.

Panchthar Phidim 17-Nov-04 108 3

3 Shree Sirijanga Agri. Cooperative Ltd.

Panchthar Sidin 3-Nov-09 35 2

4 Shree Kanchanjanga Ag. Cooperative Ltd.

Panchthar Yangnam 12-Jun-06 126 4

5 Shree Gautam Buddha Ginger Produce cooperative Ltd.

Ilam Kolbung 13-Sep-04 147 4

The survey revealed that supported cooperatives began to hold an annual assembly meeting to

elect the executive members for governance, and that four of the five cooperatives conduct

monthly meeting (with a fifth conducting quarterly meetings), all with written records of the

proceedings.

Four out of five cooperative also registered as savings and credit cooperatives and began

disbursing loan to the farmers. To date, 239 members have taken loans amounting to NPR

566,000 (GBP 4,877) and saved NPR 779,181 (GBP 6,835). The cooperatives have also provided

part time and full time jobs to members. All cooperatives were trained on business planning,


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and all have applied some aspects of this training in their operations. Two cooperatives have

collected produce from farmers and sold it to traders in a bulk, which fetched a higher price and

saved transportation costs for farmers as well.

Cooperatives are conscious about their sustainability and have developed a plan to sustain

operations in the long run. Membership fees, seed transactions, and savings and credit are the

current main sources of income for the cooperatives. Apart from these, cooperatives will be

generating and exploring other sources of revenue as stated in their plans. Cooperatives also

hope to expand their membership over time.

On the whole, cooperatives supported by this project are running well and they are putting

forth efforts to enroll increasing numbers of farmers groups. Cooperatives are providing

technical support to farmers; facilitating collective marketing; and providing savings and loan

products.

Gautam Buddha Cooperative, Kolbung, Ilam

Gautam Buddha Cooperative was established six years ago for the welfare of ginger farmers in Kolbung,

Ilam. There are four ginger farmers group merged into this cooperative, and the total membership is

currently 147, out of which 36 are female.

The cooperative has provided improved seeds to the farmers, provided technical support and conducted

various trainings not only for cooperative members but also to other farmers. According to the

cooperative, member farmers have more than tripled their production as compared to their pre-

invention levels.

Two technicians have been trained within the Cooperative, who now have full-time jobs and are

mobilized for providing technical support at the farmers’ level. Earlier, farmers were not aware of the

benefits of membership based structures, but these benefits are now well understood and membership

is increasing. Farmers have benefitted not only by improved seed, cultivation practices, and collective

marketing, but also through low cost storage. There is a high demand for low cost storage among

farmers, and this demand is being met by the Cooperative’s technicians.

The cooperative also coordinated with traders regarding ginger quality standards, has started to form

sales agreements with traders, and has been authorized by members to retain a portion of sales

proceeds for cooperative operations and transport costs.

Srijana Agricultural Cooperative

Srijana Agricultural Cooperative (SAC) Limited was established in 2008 in Ogamba, Ward # 2 Sidim VDC

Panchthar. To date, the Cooperative includes four Cardamom Farmer’s Group. The Cooperative has

enrolled 66 members with 6 females and 60 males. The Cooperative also functions as a savings and


30 | P a g e

credit cooperative, lending money to its members. The Cooperative has a policy of disbursing loans from

NPR 1,500 to NPR 31,000 for members with a provision of collateral. Additionally, the cooperative

worked with NUBL to conduct capacity building for the female members, which enabled them to keep

accounting and other administrative records independently.

The Cooperative was awarded with NPR 100,000 by the government as part of its cooperative

development scheme in 2009. With this money, the Cooperative established a grocery outlet in the

village, which not only served as a point of contact for farmers and traders but also allowed households

to buy essential daily goods and sell produce.

Mercy Corps supported the Cooperative through its establishment, conducting various trainings such as

business planning and collective marketing as part of capacity building. Mercy Corps also conducted an

exposure visit to Ilam, and some members have visited and learned about disease management,

plantation and improved practices. Due to technical support provided by Mercy Corps, the Cooperative

recommended farmers to grade cardamom, which brought about NPR 1,500 difference in average sales

between graded and non-graded cardamom. Mercy Corps also provided two improved driers, which

resulted better color, less fuel wood consumption, and better quality (taste, weight). Similarly, collective

marketing also helped farmers to sell their produces in bulk, which increased prices and reduced

transportation costs.

6.9 Farmers Group Activities

All of the farmers groups participating in the survey (out of 72 groups covered by the project)

were found to be abiding by farmers group management guidelines. The survey found that

more ginger farmers groups are affiliated with cooperatives as compared to cardamom farmers

group, most likely due to the geographical remoteness of cardamom farmers. All farmers

groups conduct meeting at least once in a month with 70% participation, while 75% of farmers

groups keep meeting minutes and other administrative records of group activities.

Likewise, collective marketing is practiced more by cardamom farmers groups as compared to

ginger groups; again, this is likely due to the remoteness of cardamom farming households.

In general, farmers groups are holding meeting periodically and keeping records of most of the

meetings. Some of the farmers groups also are doing collective marketing and rest of farmers

groups are keen to do so in future. Farmers have been able to raise their profit from their

produce; had they not been organized into a group, it would have been difficult for them to

learn and share from each other to improve their farming practices, increase yields, reduce

costs, and increase income.

6.10 Contribution to Value Chain Improvement


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The project contributed to enhance agricultural value chain development and services to

provide for better market access for the farmers, and for better coordination between actors at

different levels of the value chain. The project helped to open new doors, link farmers to

traders, and encourage collaborative action to improve the overall value chain. This included

working with the CCI (Chambers of Commerce and Industry), LCEAN, NGPTA, Cooperatives, and

farmers group; working with District Agriculture Development Officer and the Cardamom

Development Center; and, supporting trader/farmer workshops and identifying and rapport

building with market centers.

Interviews were held with CCI - Panchthar, local traders, L-CEAN and NGPTA. Each of these

stakeholders played a different role in the cardamom and ginger value chains.

Both LCEAN and NGPTA have been focusing their efforts and lobbying for policy change

regarding taxation and quarantine at the Indian boarder. Supported by the project team, L-

CEAN has open new branches in seven cardamom producing districts in Eastern Nepal. In

addition, a parallel Code of Conduct for traders was formulated via LCEAN and NGPTA.

Similarly, CCI was helped to raise awareness on improved practices and disease management at

the farmers’ level.

The lack of a standard, universal grading system for cardamom in Nepal has affected the ability

of farmers to bargain for higher prices, but also negatively impacts the ability of traders and

exporters to obtain higher prices for higher quality products. While some farmers’ groups have

attempted to introduce grades in the past, these have not been systematized at the value chain

level, and therefore have had relatively little impact in terms of farm-gate prices. Therefore, in

an effort to build consensus on a universal grading system among value chain actors, Mercy

Corps held joint meetings in all three districts with farmers, cooperatives, traders and

associations. During these meetings, all participants agreed to formulate a set of standardized

grades. Hence, farmers were given graders. This uniformity in cardamom grading has benefitted

cardamom farmers and traders by obtaining higher prices for large sized cardamom, although

additional steps are still needed before industry-wide standards can be agreed upon and

promulgated.

7. Lessons learned The CaGi project has clearly shown significant impacts at the production and trade levels as

stipulated in project planning documents. Impacts across interventions have been shown to be

positive and valuable in the perception of the targeted audiences. Lessons learned from the

project that are applicable to future such projects are summarized below.


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7.1Targeting

Ginger and cardamom are high value commodities, and both Ilam and Panchthar districts are

potential areas for high cultivation of ginger and cardamom. The project has covered viable

geographical clusters for both commodities, and also covered a majority of disadvantaged

groups (Janajatis and Dalits) wherever possible in addition to other castes (Brahamins &

Chettris). The other fact is that Birtamod is the main transit point for exporting both

commodities to other countries, and local traders from both districts sell their produce in bulk

to exporters in Birtamod. It is therefore concluded that the project carried out geographical and

beneficiary targeting well, although its targeting procedures were not as well defined as

subsequent Mercy Corps projects in Nepal.

7.2 Formation of groups and merged into Cooperatives

The project united farmers into a group, which allowed them to have a common voice. Being a

member of a group, farmers received trainings on disease management, collective marketing,

and business planning, and also benefited from opportunities for exposure visits where they

learned about improved plantation techniques and other practices. Being a group, they were

able to share and exchange information and provide peer support. Further, the project

provided inputs through the group structure.

Additionally, the formation of cooperatives is another significant milestone facilitated by the

project. Cooperatives enabled farmers groups to unite under one umbrella. Being affiliated with

Cooperatives, farmers groups benefitted from saving and credit schemes, seeds distribution,

exposure visits, trainings, demonstrations and information sharing. Such formation of groups

and cooperatives created a sense of ownership among farmers and increased sustainability.

7.3 Holistic approach of the project

As described above, the project worked at different levels of the value chain, predominantly at

the production and trade level but also, to a lesser extent, at the input level, the exporter level,

and with cross-cutting services such as financial access. The project made significant

contributions towards LCEAN’s (Large Cardamom Entrepreneurs Association of Nepal)

expanding national role, which resulted in advocacy for improved trade conditions, grading

standards, and sales practices. The project also worked with the Nepal Ginger Producers and

Traders Association (NGTPA) to promote premium quality ginger, bridge links with export

markets and advocate for reduced barriers to trade. Without doubt, working at different levels

of the value chain is an effective strategy that should be continued.


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7.4 Parallel project of ‘Expanding Access to Finance” (EAF)

Understanding the existence and impact of the dahadani system, the project incorporated

Expanding Access to Finance in the Eastern Hills, another parallel project implementing by

Mercy Corps, to uplift the economic condition of smallholder farmers supported. In this

connection, Nirdhan Utthan Bank Limited (NUBL) provided financial services, training, and Self

Reliant Group mobilization support to farmers groups supported by the project. NUBL

disbursed loans to the farmers group and farmers have invested loans in livelihood activities

such as buying seed, agricultural equipment, and livestock. Thus, farmers groups received the

combined benefits of Mercy Corps (and partners) technical services and NUBL financial services.

7.5 Replicable to other regions

The evaluation result shows that this model could be replicated in other regions where there is

good potentiality for the production of “high impact” commodities.

8. Recommendations: Based on the findings and SLOT analysis, the following recommendations should be considered

for future similar projects.

8.1 Cardamom disease management

From the field observation and interaction with farmers and other stakeholders, disease

outbreak is a growing problem in cardamom, particularly in Ilam but also increasingly in

Panchthar. Large-scale, coordinated efforts are need for cardamom disease management in

both districts. This is beyond the scope of Mercy Corps alone, but Mercy Corps should continue

to advocate for increased disease management investments from the civil, public and private

sectors.

8.2 Facilitate expanded access to quality seeds

Propagation of cardamom is done through seeds and rhizomes. Seedlings are preferable as viral

diseases are not transmitted through seeds. Rhizomes can be used for planting if collected from

disease-free mother plants. While seedlings take 5-6 years to come to full bearing, rhizomes

produce normal yield in 3-4 years. Hence most of the farmers prefer to use rhizomes. Given the

situation that the existing mother plants are severely affected by the disease, planting rhizomes

will likely further spread the virus in new farmland also. Future projects should seek to train

farmers on nursery management, awareness raising for seedling plantation, and treatment

procedures for rhizomes if re-planted from a mother plant. Moreover, the Cardamom

Development Centre produces seedlings and seed for distribution to farmers annually, although

production is very low; future projects can disseminate information to the farmers about this


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provision and create linkage of farmers to benefit from this facility, as was started under the

current project.

8.3 Modification of improved drier

As was recognized by the project early on, the improved dryer model introduced has

limitations. It is advisable that future projects focus on action research for low-cost, household-

level dryers.

8.4 Frequent monitoring at farmers field

Farmers often commented that they would have appreciated more frequent farmer-level

monitoring visits, since most monitoring visits focused on the group level. Given project size

and staffing level, this was not feasible, and reasonably could also be expected to be the

responsibility of the project’s primary partners on the ground (cooperatives, farmers groups,

and the NGO SSYC). However, future projects should either increase staffing provisions or

clarify to partners and farmers that farmer-level monitoring responsibilities rest with the

partners.

8.5 Participation of farmers in learning program

The project provided exposure visits for the cardamom farmers to Ilam (CDC, Demonstration

field) and Sikkim in India. Farmers learned about improved practices on plantation, disease

management, etc. Discussions with the farmers revealed that such exposure visits are provided

to only one representative from the farmers group or cooperative. Farmers were experiencing

difficulties for sharing information when such a representative farmer moved to another place

or remained inactive. Therefore, at least two members should be included in future exposure

visits.

8.6 Improved practices on cardamom

The majority of cardamom growing farmers are still following traditional practices inherited

from their ancestors. Therefore, behavior change communication – in addition to technical

training – is required in future projects to improve the uptake of new technologies.

8.8 Facilitate Farmers Groups for Collective Marketing

Uptake of collective marketing practices was substantial, but lower than expected by the

project. However, this is to be expected given differing household cash flow needs and the

existence of the dahadani system, which will take several cycles of fair-termed financial services

to break. Future projects should continue to encourage collective marketing through formal

means such as sales agreements since the benefits to farmers are clear.


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Annex I Sample Groups of Farmers and Farmers Group

Ginger

Group Name VDC Name Ward # District Male Female Total

Naulosuvakamana Ginger Farmer Group

Dhankuta Municipality

2 Dhankuta 0 22 22

Sharmiktol Ginger Farmer Group Dhankuta Municipality

4 Dhankuta 11 5 16

Godak Ginger Farmer Group -A Godak 9 Ilam 10 3 13

Kitini Ginger Farmer Group Kolbung 9 Ilam 11 2 13

Bagkhor ginger farmer group Kolbung 4 Ilam 15 0 15

Jamdare Ginger farmer Group Kolbung 6 Ilam 4 4 8

Godbari Ginger Farmer Group Pasupatinagar 9 Ilam 0 10 10

Champetar Ginger Farmer Group Nangin 2 Panchthar 8 4 12

Melemtto Cooperative Pvt.Ltd. 'A' Phidim 3 Panchthar 0 9 9

59 59 118

Cardamom


Tin Simana Cardamom Farmer Group Memeng 1 Panchthar 13 2 15

Jarenge Cardamom Farmer Group Nangin 8 Panchthar 11 1 12

Janajagarn Cardamom Farmer Group Prangbung 4 Panchthar 9 4 13

Janjati Cardamom Farmer Group Ranitar 7 Panchthar 12 3 15

Janachrtana Cardamom Farmer Group Sidin 1 Panchthar 0 14 14

Sunakhari Cardamom Farmer Group Sidin 9 Panchthar 15 4 19

Nebare Cardamom Farmer Group Sidin 5 Panchthar 14 0 14

Nogen Cardamom Farmer Group Yangnam 6 Panchthar 0 18 18

Luwafu Cardamom Farmer Group Yangnam 9 Panchthar 8 5 13

82 51 133


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Annex II Sample Groups for FGD

Ginger


Parigaun Ginger Farmer Group Kolbung 2 Ilam 3 8 11

Baghkhor Ginger Farmer Group Kolbung 3 Ilam 7 8 15

Pariwortan Ginger Farmer Group Pasupatinagar 9 Ilam 0 9 9

Ambote Ginger Farmer Group Nangin 3 Panchthar 6 5 11

Melemtto Cooparetive Pvt.Ltd. 'B' Phidim 1 Panchthar 11 6 17

Non-beneficiary participants Kolbung 2 Ilam 5 5 10

32 41 73

Cardamom


Namsami Cardamom Farmer Group 'B' Sidin 7 Panchthar 9 5 14

Sunakhari Cardamom Farmer Group Sidin 9 Panchthar 7 4 11

Lafa Cardamom Farmer Group Sidin 6 Panchthar 10 4 14

Phaktalung Cardamom Farmer Group Yangnam 7 Panchthar 12 3 15

Kali Devi Cardamom Farmers Group Pashupatinagar 8 Ilam 4 2 6

Nogen Cardamom Farmer Group

Yangnam 6 Panchthar 2 8 10

Non-beneficiary participants Sidin Panchthar 7 3 10

51 29 80


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Annex III Interviewee information

Name Gender Affiliated Institutions Addresses

1. Indira Rai Female Paribartan ginger farmer’s group, Chairperson

Zeal-9, Pashupatinagar Illam

2. Shiva Kumar Aryal Male Gautam Buddha Ginger Cooperative, Executive Member

Kolbung, Illam

3. Shrawan Rai Male Shrijana Ariculture Cooperative, Manager

Ogamba, Sidin, Panchthar

4. Nawaraj Thapa Male Panchthar Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Chairperson

Phidim, Panchthar

5. Hari Nepal Male A local cardamom trader

Phidim, Panchthar

6. Indra Bindal Male A major cardamom exporter

Birtamod, Jhapa

7. Anil Dhungana Male LCEAN, Secretary Birtamod, Jhapa

8. Lekhnath Neupane Male NUBL, Regional Manager

Birtamod, Jhapa

9. Indra Budhathoki Male NGPTA, Secretary Birtamod, Jhapa

spicing up the deal: cardamom and ginger...

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