A group of women came together to turn fallow land into a successful commercial farm at Chhubar in Tsakaling Gewog of Monggar. They are now harvesting Adzuki beans, a bushy non-climbing bean species, from three acres of revived land that remained fallow until July this year.
More than four months after they revived the land, they are seen harvesting the first bounty of their hard work. They expect to harvest over 600 kilograms of Adzuki beans this time. A kilogram of Adzuki beans will fetch them Nu 200 to 300 depending on the quality.
“As of now, we can’t say anything as we are doing such farming for the first time. However, we are happy since the ARDC in Wengkhar has agreed to help us in marketing. Moreover, the green net has helped us in protecting the crop. Otherwise, deer and other wild animals would’ve damaged the crops,” said Sonam Lhamo, a member of the group.
“This year’s harvest has inspired us to work harder. Now I am thinking of growing Adzuki beans in the whole farmland. It doesn’t take long to harvest,” said another.
According to agriculture officials, the Adzuki beans production is a part of the programme to increase the production of legume species, including beans, lentils and peas in the country. It is being initiated by Agriculture Research and Development Centers in collaboration with Dzongkhag Agriculture Sectors. The trial programme started three years ago. And this year, the ARDC in Monggar supplied seeds to all the Land Use Certificate projects in 12 Dzongkhags. They expect to collect more than three bolero truckloads of beans from these districts.
An agreement was also made with an exporter to sell the product to Japan. The product is widely used for baking cakes and making biscuits in Japan.
Sonam Tshering, Monggar
Edited by Sonam
