Farmers in Ridzommo chiwog at Dechhenling Gewog in Pema Gatshel resumed commercial farming after more than three years. This was made possible after the gewog administration realigned the farm road last year. The farm road constructed in 2017 was completely washed away by a landslide within a year due to the unstable soil.
Of the total six kilometres, half of the stretch was realigned due to unstable soil. The realignment was delayed for more than three years which affected commercial farming activities in the villages. Most farmers in the chiwog grow cassava and ginger on a commercial scale.
“We faced difficulty in carrying the things from our village to the nearest road point. If we take it from here, it takes more than two hours. Last year, we could only sell around five metric tons of dried cassava. Life became very difficult,” said Thinley Wangchuk, a farmer in Dechhenling Gewog.
“For the past four years, we suffered a lot. We used to rear cattle and take the milk at MPU. We also used to plant the gingers and carry them on our backs. But we couldn’t carry out all these activities,” said Nima Tshering, another farmer.
According to the chiwog Tshogpa, the construction of the road got delayed due to clearance issues. The realignment work was carried out spending nearly Nu 1 M. The farm road benefits 69 households of three villages in the chiwog.
Thinley Dorji, Pema Gatshel
Edited by Sonam Pem
