Farmers of Sonamthang under Ngangla Gewog in Zhemgang are reluctant to use the storage facility built in the village after the stored maize grains were rotten and lost to pests.
The 8,500 kilogramme silo was built by agriculture machinery unit in 2007 to store maize grains. The facility now remain abandoned with rust all over.
Farmers said they do not know why the silo failed to function.
“The facility was used only once. But the maize stored in the silo started to decay. Famers were then reluctant to use it. May be because of that farmers do not want to lose their crops,” said Ngangla Gup, Tshering Wangchuk.
Farmers suspected rainwater leaking from the top of silo to have spoiled their maize.
Ngangla Gup said farmers of Sonamthang grow maize twice a year and without a storage facility, the harvest easily get spoiled due to the heat and humidity during summer.
“Therefore, we are hoping that the agriculture officials would solve the issue and repair very soon. ”
The Dzongkhag agriculture officials said they will look into the problem and see what needs to be done.
The silo has a conveyor like equipment that carries the maize to the opening on the top. It also has a small opening at the bottom to take the maize out.
The facility at Sonamthnag village is located about -kilometers away from Panbang.
