Nim Dorji  | Trongsa

Farmers from Bumthang and Trongsa dzongkhags supplied their surplus dairy products to Bhutan Livestock Development Corporation in Thimphu (BLDCL).

Trongsa dzongkhags livestock sector supplied 400 kilograms of butter and 600 kilograms of cheese to BLDCL.

The dairy products are collected from the gewogs by the respective livestock officials.

The dzongkhag livestock sector initiated the collection of the products to help farmer’s sell them.

The officials will collect the products once every week until the lockdown ends.  Trongsa dzongkhag livestock officer Jigme Chophel said that with the announcement of the lockdown, all informal marketing links have broken suddenly and this has led to stocking which could get spoil with the disruption in the supply chain.

“BLDCL came to the rescue of many small and marginal farmers whose livelihoods are solely dependent on livestock and agriculture farming,”

The dzongkhag at present is running out of livestock feed. All three suppliers in Trongsa don’t have any more left to sell.

Two trucks of the supplier carrying the livestock feeds are stranded in Thimphu.

A supplier said that his truck was stranded in Phuentsholing for around nine days.

Another supplier in Langthel said that her truck and driver got stuck in Paro while going to pick the feed.

An official said that they have informed the Department of Livestock about the situation.

“If the trucks carrying the feeds are not released as anticipated, we might have to resort to reducing feed quota as a means of sustenance rather than production,” the livestock officer said.

He said that they suggested the farmers feed grasses and cereals to cope with the shortages until a durable and sustainable method of feeding is found.

The dzongkhag task force wrote to Thimphu dzongkhag task force to let the trucks pass at the earliest.

Meanwhile, dairy products worth Nu 638,000 were transported to BLDCL from Bumthang.

Dzongkhag collected cheese and butter from the seven milk processing units in the dzongkhag.

Surplus products of 975 kilograms of butter and 3,977 balls of cheese were sent to Thimphu.

Dzongkhag will dispatch the surplus dairy products once every two to three days.