Chencho Dema

Gangtey—Fifty-one-year-old Wangda Dorji, a potato farmer from Gangtey in Wangdue, faced numerous challenges last year transporting his potato to Phuentsholing. The delayed auction rippled into delayed payments, potatoes rotting due to humid weather, and additional waiting charges for trucks, making the auction process painfully arduous.

This year, he is not worried about having to take his potatoes to Phuentsholing, thanks to the Potato Trade Facilitation Centre that has been established in Gangtey Gewog.

Inaugurated on July 23, this first-of-its-kind centre is equipped with state-of-the-art machinery for grading, washing, and drying, sorting and packaging potatoes. It is also equipped with an online trading (auction) service.

The centre is built on a three-acre land at a total cost of Nu 75.67 million. A warehouse, located a few metres from the centre, has been built to store potatoes with a capacity of 500 MT.

The centre will cater to people of Gangtey and five other gewogs in Wangdue district.

The potato farmers of Phobjikha, Gangtey and Saephu usually transport potatoes to Phuentsholing for auction.  This posed numerous challenges.

During the auction in 2023, hundreds of kilogrammes of potatoes from Phobjikha and Gangtey were spoiled because farmers had to wait more than two weeks for the auction to take place at the yard in Phuentsholing.

Potato is the primary source of income for people of Phobjikha and Gangtey

Each truckload of potato costs between Nu 30,000 to Nu 40,000 to reach Phuentsholing. Each household sells between one to four truckloads annually.

Now, the centre will facilitate online auction of potatoes for farmers from Gangtey, Phobjikha, Bjena, Saephu, Dangchu and Rubesa gewogs.

Farmers will have to pay 4 percent of the value of every kilogramme as user fee to the centre.

Potato farmers in Wangdue can now save substantial time and costs.

Pemo, 39, from Pangkarpo village, said that she is looking forward to using the services in the centre.

Potato is among Bhutan’s most valuable cash crops, playing a crucial role in food security and the livelihoods of nearly all farming households.

Over 60 percent of the total potatoes produced in the country are exported, earning around Nu 750 million annually.

Potato is the primary source of income for people of Phobjikha and Gangtey gewogs. Farmers in Gangtey, Phobjikha, and Saephu Gewogs earn about 80 percent of their household income from potato sale.

Wangdue district accounts for around 67 percent of total potato production in the country. Of this, Gangtey alone accounts for  37 percent of potatoes produced in the district, with 90 percent being exported.

Bhutan’s farmers face increasing marketing challenges due to changing international market conditions, formalisation of trade with new regulations and standardisation requirements, and emerging competitions.

The Officiating Chief Economic Development and Marketing Officer of Department of Agricultural Marketing and Cooperatives, Jamyang Lophyal, said that even to export to India, which is the main market, Bhutanese potatoes must now meet a range of stringent standards and specific prerequisites, such as being soil-free, pest-free, and has to be properly graded and packed in standard weights.

Agriculture minister Younten Phuntsho, who inaugurated the Potato Trade Facilitation Centre, said that the government is establishing these centres in strategic locations to enhance value chain and marketability, help meet new market requirements, and enable entry into other international markets.

“It will also lead to higher commercial production, boosting rural income, and creating employment opportunities,” Lyonpo said.

The UNDP Resident Representative, Mohammad Younus, described the centre as a groundbreaking initiative. “This centre is a game changer. Farmers can now trade their potatoes from Gangtey, at source, leading to increased exports, better prices, and improved livelihoods,” he said.

A similar centre is under construction in Chumey, Bumthang, and the construction of another one in Khaling, Trashigang will begin next year.

The CEO of Food Corporation of Bhutan Limited, Dorji Tashi, said that implementing online auctions at the source is a significant step for Bhutan’s potato marketing.

He said that the centre eliminates the need for farmers to transport potatoes to Phuentsholing, cutting transportation costs and effort. “The online auction directly from the warehouse will ensure prompt payment, and also reduce reliance on middlemen, ensuring farmers receive a fair share of the profits.”

He added that the warehouse will provide storage facilities, protecting potatoes from heat and damage, ensuring better quality. “However, more efforts will have to be made to convince the farmer of the benefits.”

The centre was built with financial support from the GEF-LDCF through UNDP, the Hand-In-Hand Initiatives of Food and Agriculture Organisation, and the government of Bhutan.

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