The Himalayas are running out of their prized harvest

For nearly two decades, 62-year-old Durga Bahadur Budha has trekked into the remote alpine meadows of Mugu every spring in search of caterpillar fungus (Cordyceps sinensis), the prized Himalayan entomopathogenic fungus that sustains thousands of families across Nepal's northwest Karnali Province.

This year, the journey brought little reward.

Budha, from Khatyad Rural Municipality in Mugu district, set off in the third week of May with his wife Shanti and sons Gobinda and Prakash for the Thulo Koiki pasture in Mugum Karmarong Rural Municipality. After a three-day trek carrying supplies worth about Rs 50,000 (about $325), the family spent two weeks combing the mountainsides but collected only 210 pieces of caterpillar fungus.

They sold the harvest directly at the pasture for around Rs 1,000 apiece before returning home a month later.

"We crossed dangerous cliffs and risked our lives to reach the pasture, but even with four of us searching for two weeks, we could barely find 12 to 15 pieces a day," Budha said. "Our expenses kept rising while the harvest remained poor. Even earning Rs 100,000 after covering costs became difficult."

Last year, his family earned around Rs 350,000 from caterpillar fungus. The year before, they made about Rs 250,000.

His neighbor, Padam Bahadur Budha, faced a similar disappointment. He and his wife Pabitra spent two weeks in the highlands after investing nearly Rs 25,000 in food and equipment. They returned with only 120 pieces.

"Some days we couldn't find even a single one. On good days, we collected eight or ten," he said.

Disappointing harvest

Mugum Karmarong Rural Municipality said nearly 4,000 collectors entered major caterpillar fungus pastures this season. The local government collected about Rs 2.8 million in entry fees.

Around 70 percent of collectors have already left because of the poor harvest, according to Sobendra Malla, the municipal information officer.

"They kept saying there simply wasn't enough caterpillar fungus," Malla said. "Only about 1,000 to 1,200 collectors remain, and they are also preparing to leave."

Entry fees ranged from Rs 500 to Rs 2,500 depending on where the collectors lived.

Collectors sold fresh caterpillar fungus to local traders for Rs 700 to Rs 1,000 per piece. Malla estimates bulk prices this year will range between Rs 1.6 million and Rs 1.8 million per kilogram.

The trade follows a well-established chain. Local traders purchase individual pieces from collectors during the harvesting season. As the season ends, wholesalers travel to the region and buy the accumulated stock by weight.

Last year, the authorities issued transport permits for 107 kg of caterpillar fungus from Mugum Karmarong. This year, not a single trader has applied for transport permits so far.

The consequences of a poor harvest are particularly severe in Mugum Karmarong, where farming provides little food security.

Because of extreme cold and a lack of irrigation, only one annual crop, naked barley, can be grown across most of the municipality, and the harvest rarely feeds families for more than three months.

"Our main livelihood is collecting caterpillar fungus," said Tasi Lama of Mugum Karmarong. "If the harvest fails, it becomes extremely difficult to support a family for the rest of the year."

Collectors say they are facing a double blow of declining production and falling prices.

Prices have also been declining steadily in recent years, according to trader Parbal Lama from Chharka Tangsong in Dolpa, Karnali.

Caterpillar fungus, which sold for Rs 2.7 million per kg two years ago, fell to Rs 2.4 million last year.

"High-quality caterpillar fungus has been scarce this year, so prices are likely to decline further," Parbal said. "If we could sell directly to buyers in China, we would get better prices. Instead, we're forced to accept whatever Kathmandu-based traders offer."

Risking lives

The harvest remains one of Nepal's deadliest seasonal occupations.

According to the Karnali Province Police Office, four collectors, two in Dolpa and two in Mugu, died from altitude sickness this season. Nearly 50 others suffering from altitude-related illness were rescued by volunteers and security personnel.

Every year, collectors face life-threatening risks from high altitude, severe weather, heavy snowfall and treacherous terrain, said Jaya Raj Sapkota, chief of the provincial police.

Government data show a sharp decline in caterpillar fungus production across Karnali over the past decade.

According to the local authorities, 941 kg of caterpillar fungus were transported out of the province last year, down from 1,200 kg the previous year and 1,900 kg in the 2023-24 fiscal year.

The figures were far higher a decade ago, reaching 2,169 kg in 2017-18 and 2,414 kg in 2018-19.

Botanist Bed Prakash Sharma said several factors are contributing to the decline, including erratic rainfall, climate change, habitat degradation, forest fires and increasing human pressure on fragile alpine ecosystems.

Although caterpillar fungus collection was suspended for nearly three years during the COVID-19 pandemic, Sharma said the interruption also disrupted the species' natural reproductive cycle.

For many families in Nepal's Himalayan districts, medicinal herbs remain the only viable source of cash income.

"If we can't earn from herbs, our only option is to go to India for labor work," said Lanka Bahadur Rokaya of Tripurasundari Municipality in Dolpa.

THE KATHMANDU POST, NEPAL