Lhakpa Quendren
Tsirang— What might come as a surprise to many, vast swathes of fertile, productive land in Tsirang, the agricultural hub of the country, have been left fallow, with some 100 acres of cultivable field now lush with vegetation.
As of 2019, around 1,695 acres of arable land were barren in Tsirang. Of this, dry land accounted for 1,014 acres.
Although the dzongkhag agriculture sector has no record of fallow land since 2020, local government leaders point out that the issue has only worsened over the years.
The increasing fallow land in the dzongkhag has also questioned the effectiveness of policy interventions. The government implemented several measures in the past to revive fallow land but these efforts have been anything but successful, according to farmers.
Tsholingkhar gup Passang Thingh Tamang said that the gewog administration constantly reminds residents and owners of fallow land to clear bushes and shrubs but their efforts often go in vain. “It is challenging because there are no rules to impose punishment on those who do not comply,” the gup said.
The gewog administration is concerned with large areas of cultivable land remaining fallow despite being fertile for farming. “I am worried that these fallow lands might turn into forest if not tended,” the gup added.
Multiple factors contribute to the abandonment of arable land. Human-wildlife conflicts, irrigation issues, labour shortages, and migration are the most common. Recently, lifestyle changes and overseas emigration have further exacerbated the situation.
According to Gup Passang, all abandoned lands in the gewog have access to irrigation, making it hard to attribute the issue solely to water scarcity. “These days, young people are more educated and prefer jobs or businesses to farming,” he said.
As younger, economically productive individuals move away, only the elderly are left behind in the villages.
Tsirang dzongkhag has 190 absentee households (goongtong) as of June 2024, and ranks ninth for googtong in the country.
Local government leaders said that fallow lands mostly belong to residents who have resettled in the gewogs. The tradition of inheriting ancestral properties is also slowly waning.
Thirty-three-year-old farmer, Hem Kumar Pokwal, from Tsholingkhar has left his 50-decimal wetland barren since last year because of labour shortage and high wages. With his children in school, few hands are available for farming.
“I cannot afford to hire workers due to the exorbitant wage rates,” he said.
Hem Kumar Pokwal owns a total of 2.45 acres of farmland. Adding to his woes, his mandarin orchard is drying up due to the severe hailstorm in April this year.
While Hem Kumar plans to resume paddy cultivation, he is worried about his mandarin orchard becoming unproductive.
Farmer Karma Youden, 38, said that wild animals such as monkeys and birds continue to be a nuisance for farmers.
“Human-wildlife conflict is becoming increasingly severe. Even those who have stayed back are not farming anymore,” she said.
“In the 13th Plan, we will continue supporting fallow land revival. However, farmers are discouraged by a lack of available labour and irrigation issues in some cases, where there is no water source,” an official from the dzongkhag agriculture sector said.
The National Council’s Good Governance Committee (GGC) review report revealed that between 2010 and 2019, the total cultivated land decreased by over 28,000 acres (10 percent), with wetland (chuzhing) cultivation dropping by 29,566.42 acres (38.4 percent).
The cultivation of dry land (kamzhing) however increased by 14,000 acres (8.13 percent) in the country during the same period.
The report also identified several challenges affecting the agriculture sector, including waning interest in agriculture, rural-urban migration, inadequate land availability, and crop losses to wildlife, limited market access, insufficient agricultural credit, natural disasters, and lack of post-harvest management facilities.
Despite these challenges, there is a glimmer of hope.
Sixty-six-year-old Jagat Bahadur Subba recently revived his 2.8 acres of fallow land with financial support from his daughter and son-in-law in Australia.
“Without their help, I would not have been able to convert the fallow land,” said Jagat Bahadur, who transformed unproductive terraces into thriving paddy fields after nearly a decade of neglect.