Bhutan: Urban agriculture initiative supplies 500kg of vegetables during lockdown
The initiative which rolled out in May as a part of Covid-19 initiative converted 26 acres of fallow land converted to agricultural land in places such as Begana, Bebeyna, Kushuchen, Changtagang and thromde areas in the capital.
By Choki Wangmo
Kuensel
Aug 29, 2020
Excerpt:
A group harvested 399kg of vegetables from 21 plots of land in Beybena, Changtagang, Kushuchen, and Begana during the lockdown. They earned Nu 18,585. A farmer said the prices were comparatively lesser than the market price but “this is the time for us to help the nation.”
Some of the farmers, however, were upset with the prices they were given. For example, a kg of beans fetched Nu 23 and Nu 19 for cabbage according to the government-fixed price during lockdown. “Such prices might discourage farmers,” one of them said.
Sixty percent of the crops like beans, carrot, pumpkin, coriander, chili, peas, radish, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and spring onion was harvested. The group expects to harvest the remaining crops in the coming days as per the instruction of the agriculture department and the national Covid-19 task force, which allows only one person from the group to visit the field.
“Due to movement restriction and delay in harvest, crops such as spinach, carrot, coriander were damaged by rain, sunshine, and invasive weed,” a farmer said, adding that some of the crops were stolen.
