Lhakpa Quendren

Tsirang—As 68-year-old Balbir Rai walks through his orchard in Dangreygang, Semjong in Tsirang, the aftermath of the recent hailstorm becomes painfully apparent. He looks helpless as he discusses the impact on mandarin farmers.

The citrus trees are losing their leaves and their branches are drying up. Balbir Rai is uncertain about the future of his 150 citrus trees in the 50-decimal orchard along the gewog centre road.

Disappointed, Balbir Rai says that initially, about 80 trees were flowering. “Now, as you can see, they are drying up,” he adds, pointing to the barren branches with his walking stick.

“This is the first time I have witnessed such a heavy and big hailstorm in Tsirang,” says Balbir Rai.

Balbir Rai depends on fruits as his main source of income, which helps him pay taxes and support his family. He earned about Nu 90,000 selling mandarins last year. Avocado and mango trees are also struggling to bear fruit, but mandarins are the hardest hit.

This devastating situation, however, has not stopped Balbir Rai from making recovery efforts. He has already taken the initiative to plant 17 citrus tree saplings in the hailstorm-affected cardamom field. While pruning is planned, he wonders, “Will they die or survive for now?”

With the fruiting season beginning, some trees are starting to bear fruit.

In Tsholingkha Moed, 61-year-old farmer Bhuwan Singh Kekchaki has two citrus trees that bear fruit, shielded by his two-story building, while others remain unproductive. He owns about 200 trees spread across three acres, earning him between Nu 200,000 and Nu 300,000 annually.

“The harvest was low last year; this year should be better for mandarin farmers,” he says. “Mandarin is expected to fetch good price in the market in the upcoming season.”

Normally, exporters would have reserved the orchards by now, but none have done so this year.

“Visiting exporters would waste their time and resources,” says Bhuwan Singh Kekchaki, adding that low-income families usually receive a portion of the booking budget, which helps them purchase essential items.

Further down the road, Chura Moni Acharya, 69, a retired soldier, planted 67 citrus trees for commercial purposes. “As these trees just started flowering, it was unfortunate that all were damaged by the hailstorm,” he says.

He also grows maize and vegetables, but mandarin orange is his main source of income.

In April this year, the hailstorm damaged vegetables on 2,294 acres and 58,638 fruit trees belonging to 1,200 households, which amounted to a monetary loss of about Nu 55 million across eight gewogs in Tsirang.

Tsholingkhar Gup Passang Thingh Tamang says that the government provided Nu 3 million worth of seedlings as compensation for damages to vegetables and maize in the dzongkhag.

“We have submitted damage figures to the government through the dzongkhag administration and are advocating for a compensation policy from the government,” he added.

“About 38 percent of the households in my gewog depend on mandarin as their main source of income, with some even earning as much as Nu 900,000 in a season,” says the gup, calling it an unfortunate disaster. “About 70 percent of their trees were affected.”

Local government officials are worried that the situation might not improve next year.

“It would take some years for the trees to recover. The tree will shrink because citrus trees do not shed their leaves naturally,” says an official.

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