Lhakpa Quendren

Gelephu—A year ago, Kabita Gurung, 43, faced the difficult decision to close her thriving chilli farm in Samtenling, Sarpang, due to labour shortage. However, inspired by YouTube videos, she decided to pivot her agricultural efforts and explore new possibilities.

“I have no formal training in dragon fruit farming, but YouTube has been a valuable resource for everything from cultivation to management,” she said. “We can learn so much from our mobile devices.”

She leased three acres of state land along the Gelephu-Sarpang Highway for Nu 5,000 annually, converting one acre into a vibrant dragon fruit farm.

With an investment of about Nu 700,000, she imported saplings from Assam, India, planting around 4,000 plants of seven varieties—Thai pink rose, jumbo red, Moroccan red, Siam red, red velvet, Vietnamese red, and Israeli yellow. These plants are trained on 486 table-top trellises and are nurtured using efficient drip irrigation techniques.

Over 1,000 seedlings are raised in greenhouses, attracting travellers eager to purchase saplings. The farm is secured with barbed wire topped with electric fencing to deter elephants.

Having planted her dragon fruit in March, Kabita Gurung anticipates her first commercial harvest in August next year. “The mature branches are yielding three to four fruits each, enough for self-consumption. I offered the first three fruits as a tsho to Tali Dratshang,” she said.

Hand cross-pollination of local white, pink, and yellow varieties using a makeup brush is employed to produce mixed variety fruits, while most pollination occurs at night by bees. Some plants have suffered from sunscald due to recent temperatures reaching 40 degrees.

Despite an influx of new farmers entering the dragon fruit market, she is optimistic about marketing opportunities. She has already connected with tourist hotels and resorts in Thimphu and Paro that currently import dragon fruits from Kolkata and Bangkok.

“We need to stay competitive. If the Israeli yellow variety, which is the most expensive type of dragon fruit, performs well, it can sell for Nu 400 per kilogram, which is lower than the market rate,” she said, adding that dragon fruits are also known for their nutritional benefits.

If all goes well, she plans to open a juice outlet. “I have a vacuum sealer for proper packaging, and I believe that if our products meet the standards, there won’t be any marketing challenges,” Kabita Gurung said.

With Bhutan experiencing a surge in dragon fruit farming, there is potential to replace major fruit imports. In 2023, Bhutan imported Nu 731.7 million worth of fruit items, falling short by Nu 43.1 million compared to exports of Nu 658.6 million.

However, she is uncertain if she can expand the farm by an additional two acres since the land lease is currently for three years. “I am looking forward to seeking advice from the GMC Governor on whether I can expand the farm,” she said.

Kabita Gurung said that three years will not be sufficient to recoup her initial investment let alone earn profit. “Previously, lease periods were for 30 years. The lifespan of dragon fruit is around 20 years with proper disease management,” she said.

She had applied for the land lease during the pandemic in 2020 when the government encouraged farming, but the lagthram was issued only six months ago.

Kabita Gurung and her husband, a teacher at Dekiling Middle Secondary School in Sarpang, share a passion for agriculture. The couple runs a nursery on an acre of land which grows hundreds of varieties of plants and flowers.