Chhimi Dema

Ugyen Chezom in Bangina, Haa, earned Nu 57,500 from her sale of tomatoes last year.

The 44-year-old attributes it all to the greenhouse or poly house she installed in 2019.

“Growing tomatoes has become easier and more profitable compared with growing potatoes in the fields because of greenhouse or poly house,” Ugyen Chezom said.

This earning from a high yield for a farmer was possible because of the support from the agriculture ministry and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD)’s Resilient Mountain Solutions initiative.
The initiative was implemented in Bhutan in 2019

The initiative was implemented in Bhutan in 2019.

It will end this year.

Resilient Mountain Solutions initiative aims to enhance the resilience of women and men in the Hindu Kush Himalaya to socioeconomic and environmental changes, including climate change, by scaling up and scaling out existing resilient solutions and developing new knowledge and solutions through pilots, collaborative research, field demonstrations, and strategic outreach and engagement.

The initiative, in Bhutan, was aligned with the 12th Five Year Plan of the National Organic Flagship Programme and Cottage and Small Industry Flagship.
The initiative was implemented in Bhutan in 2019

In Haa, the initiative supported development of Model Organic Village in Langpa-Nobgang in Samar gewog, Haa.

It helped the promotion of organic production technologies such as organic fertiliser, protected cultivation, crop diversity, plant protection and bio-input production through training and input supplies.

Records with the agriculture ministry show that there are six model organic villages in the country that are designed on success of the villages in Haa.

The organic villages are found in Wangdue, Sarpang, Lhuentse, and Chukha.
The initiative was implemented in Bhutan in 2019

The initiative was implemented in Bhutan in 2019

Farmers of Haa also received support to develop a value chain for organic buckwheat through the Resilient Mountain Solutions initiative which helped in buying a de-husking machine for the Organic Buckwheat Group constituting 27 farmers.

Through the initiative, farmers were trained in basic organic management, soil fertility and pest management, organic agriculture technologies, development of vegetable nurseries, and awareness of nutrition and food security, among others.
The initiative was implemented in Bhutan in 2019

Another farmer, Kinley Bidha, from Bangina, said that the financial support in installing the poly houses was beneficial in running the house.

“I could raise my children with the income from the produce grown in the greenhouses,” she said.

Kinley Bidha grows tomatoes, spinach, and parsley in the greenhouses.

She received training in developing vegetable nurseries which has helped her to reduce the cost of labour.
The initiative was implemented in Bhutan in 2019

Despite the high yield, the farmers said that they face challenges in marketing the produce.

Kinley Bidha said that without transportation she faces difficulty in marketing the produce. “Maybe we could get some help from the government or other agencies in addressing this issue.”

Resilient Mountain Solutions initiative also helped the farmers of Haa in yak product diversification and marketing.

Advertisement