Tshering Namgyal | Mongar

With the new vegetable market shed almost complete, farmers selling farm produces in Lingmithang will not have to sell from a damaged shed or along the roadside soon.

Regional agricultural and marketing cooperative (RAMCO) is constructing the two-storied market shed with the funding support of Nu 7.8 million from Global Environment Facility’s fund for least developed countries (GEF-LDC).

According to RAMCO officials, the top floor dedicated to vegetable vendors have 11 cubicles of which four or five would be allotted to permanent vendors while the rest would be given to farmers.

The ground floor has four rooms with air conditioner installed, of which two would be used as meat shops and one each for dairy product outlet and a store to for vendors to keep unsold products.

The regional marketing coordinator, Dorji Rinchen, said they just have to blacktop the road in front of the shed and electrify the structure. “We will hand over the shed to Saling gewog administration.”

Lack of proper marketing shed, however, did not deter farmers from Tsakaling, Drepong and Saling gewogs in Mongar to travel to Lingmithang to sell their produce every Saturday.

Farmers, in fact, prefer the area, although some of them have to sell along the road, as civil servants and corporate employees in Lingmithang buy all their produce. There are different agencies like RNR sub-centre, regional livestock breeding centre, Bhutan Agro, Mountain Hazelnut, CDCL, and regional DOR office in Lingmithang.

Pema Lhaden from Poetsongbi, Tsakaling, said her farm produces fetch her Nu 7,000 to 10,000 every week. She grows vegetables in two-acre farmland. She earned an income of Nu 60,000 from selling chillies this season alone.

“I manage to sell everything at the end of the day and fetch a good price,” she said.

Villagers come to the town in boleros.

Customers are also happy.

“We get everything here at a reasonable price compared to Gyalpozhing vegetable market and I always make a point to buy from here,” Gyem Tshering, an employee with the Mountain Hazelnut said.