Farmers in Khangma village of Yurung Gewog in Pema Gatshel stopped rice cultivation more than a decade ago. The reason; hand pounding of paddy in a mortar with a pestle is laborious. Moreover, they get imported rice at a cheaper rate. But this didn’t discourage two young men to revive the upland paddy cultivation last year. While the harvest was bountiful, they have more reasons to rejoice as the district agriculture sector provided two rice mills to encourage the farmers.
Mortar and pestle were used to pound the paddy in the past. The two inseparable antiques served the community too long. They have even forced the farmers to quit cultivating rice altogether. And then along came the modern rice mill, taking the place of the mortar and pestle. The agriculture sector also has its hands in reviving the age-old tradition of upland paddy cultivation.
“We were provided with free seed. When we had good production, we asked for a machine. Now we are provided with such facility and we are very happy today. In the past, we faced lots of problems. And gradually it forced us to avoid working also,” said Ugyen Dorji, from Khangma in Yurung Gewog.
“This machine from the government made our task very easy. It is also easy to move. So, if we don’t have such a facility, we must face lots of problems. And if we are to do it in the traditional way, we cannot produce much and even we cannot sell like today. We are very grateful for the support,” added Kencho Wangdi, also from Khangma.
Their hard work with support from the agriculture sector paid off. They don’t have to worry about ration until the next harvest. While they can save what they usually spend on buying rice, they can also earn from selling the surplus.
“I have sold around a thousand kg of rice at Nu 80 per kg. Our rice also tastes better than the imported ones. It might be because we don’t use any chemicals. I even feel proud as I am self-sufficient,” Kencho said.
“Though we lost some of our paddies to wild animals, the harvest was still very good. I cannot sell rice like others but I am happy as I could harvest enough rice to last for a year to two,” added Ugyen.
Encouraged by their success, other farmers in the village are also planning to try their hands on the upland paddy cultivation.
“We have to purchase the imported rice when we are affected by the global pandemic. They had a good product last year and we also thought, it would be better to work and produce our own food. So, we started clearing the forest now. The rice mill machine had made their work easier, so we will also work,” said Gembo Dorji, a farmer from Khangma.
“In the past, we have to pound in a mortar. Today this machine benefits us. So, we are hoping to gear up the paddy cultivation. We don’t want to leave our land fallow. Now it would be a problem for us to import the rice as the pandemic is not subsiding. We are discussing to produce more rice locally,” added Mindu Wangdi, in Khangma.
While their neighbours look forward to cultivating paddy, Kencho and Ugyen are already reaping the benefit of their hard work. Today they have rice stacked in their house which was occupied by a sack of imported rice in the past.
Thinley Dorji, Pema Gatshel
Edited by Sonam
