Approximately 80% of the population of Bhutan are involved in agriculture. Over 95% of the earning women in the country work in the agricultural sector. Majority of the refugees in this Himalayan nation are also employed in the agricultural sector. Agriculture in Bhutan is characterized by its labor-intensive nature with relatively low intensity of farm inputs. Most of the peasants in the country are small and marginal.
Among the agricultural lands in the nation, an estimated 21% are wetland (irrigated), approximately 43% are dryland (rainfed), nearly 27% are used for shifting cultivation, approximately 3% are used for orchards and 1% are kitchen gardens.
Major crops cultivated in Bhutan are maize and rice. Maize accounts for 49% of total domestic cereal cultivation, and rice accounts for 43%. Rice is the major staple crop. Agriculture in the country includes cultivation of wheat and other minor cereal crops. Paddy is the primary crop in those regions where proper irrigation is available. Apart from paddy, other crops like wheat, barley, oil seeds, potato and different vegetables are also cultivated in these lands. Maize is mainly cultivated in dryland regions at lower elevation. Forests in the nation act as the source of livestock fodder and organic materials for the purpose of development of fertility. Forests are also responsible for regulating the availability of water for agricultural purpose.
The primary goals of agriculture in Bhutan are to raise the per capita income of the people living in rural areas, to enhance self-sufficiency in staple crops, and to increase the productivity per unit of farm labor and agricultural land. Agriculture is hampered due to irrigation problem, rough terrain, poor soil quality and limited number of arable lands. But several other factors have contributed in the development of agriculture. These factors include improved quality of various cereal seeds, oil seeds, and vegetable seeds, use of fertilizers, mechanization process and trained agricultural experts. The agricultural sector have experienced development especially in the following projects:
Paro Valley Development Project
Geylegphug Development Project
Punakha-Wangdi Valley Development Project
Tashigang-Mongar Area Development Project
Chirang Hill Irrigation Development Project.
Production of cash crops such as apple, orange and cardamom have increased and have become profitable. In several areas the shifting cultivation is being replaced by the orchard cultivation. Academics expect this will increase the cultivation of cash crops.
In 2013 the government announced that Bhutan will become the first country in the world with 100 percent organic farming and started a program for qualification. This program is being supported by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM).
Rice production in Bhutan
Rice production in Bhutan plays an important role in food supply in Bhutan. It is cultivated largely for domestic consumption. In 2001 it was reported as little as 1% of rice grown in Bhutan as being marketed, but a farmers survey indicated that around 15% is indeed marketed.
In a country where 79% of the population is engaged in agriculture, in 2006 the production of rice in Bhutan was 74, 720 metric tons, with some 67,568 acres (273.44 km2) under cultivation. This increased dramatically from 44,000 tons in 2000. Rice production in Bhutan increased by 58 percent between 1989 and 1997 according to an assessment of the rice research programme in Bhutan.
The most important growing areas are Samtse which has the highest rice growing area in Bhutan with 2,889 hectares, followed by Sarpang with 2,839 and Punakha with 1,971 hectares. Production is highest in Punakha with 6,274 tonnes a year. Other areas include Paro and Wangduephodrang, which has one of the most important rice institutes in the country at Bajo.
A significant percentage of agricultural land has been destroyed to make way for infrastructure in the country. According to Ganesh B. Chettri, the Joint Director of the Department of Agriculture, “We have lost a lot of land for infrastructural development purposes in Thimphu and other places but still the rice produced in Bhutan is sufficient for 50 percent of the population”.
Whilst Bhutan is notable grower of rice, Bhutan imports 6,000 to 7,000 metric tonnes of rice every year according to Singay Dukpa, the Deputy Managing Director of the Foodgrain Division of the Food Corporation of Bhutan.
Products
Bhutanese red rice
Bhutanese red rice is a medium-grain rice, and is the staple rice of the Bhutanese people. It is a red japonica rice that is semi-milled; some of the reddish bran is left on the rice. Because of this, it cooks somewhat faster than an unmilled brown rice. When cooked, the rice is pale pink, soft and slightly sticky.
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