Maize is one of the major home-grown crops, especially for the people of the east. It is also a staple diet for many. However, lack of proper storage is a major problem faced by the people. Due to this, stored maize grains are lost to pests, disease and wild animals.
In a move to encourage farmers to store the National Post Harvest Centre under the Department of Agriculture is providing free storage facilities to some of the villages in the Country. One such village is Nomering village under Khamdang Gewog in Trashi Yangtse. It is a community based storage facility.
Our reporter, Yeshi Nidup, who visited the village, said that the villagers are excited about this new development and are now gearing up to make good money.
“In the past years families live and store food grains in same house having no separate provision for storage. Maize seeds are often spoiled by smoke while cooking,” said one of the farmers.
Many villagers said though the concept is new, such initiative will encourage them in storing maize.
“Before wild birds and animals like monkeys get to our ceiling and consume most of our stored maize. With such facilities we have no worries, we can lock it whenever we go out,” said another villager.
Today there are about 30 such storage facilities in Nomering village. According to the District Agriculture Officer in Trashi Yangtse, Tandin Dorji, there are plans to scale up such projects in other villages of Trashi Yangtse in future.
The Director for Department of Agriculture, Chencho Norbu, said proper granary for maize production areas will enhance food security and maintain better quality and quantity of maize. He said it will also widen marketing opportunity. “In this kind of terrain and remote areas it’s quite difficult to find seeds. So in that sense we are also happy to see farmers receiving the package very happily and able to maintain their own seeds. So, this is one indicator of sustaining ourselves particularly in terms of self-sufficiency point of view,” he added.
Nomaring village has 20 households.
