Owing to favourable weather conditions, the farmers of Orong Gewog in Samdrup Jongkhar cultivate vegetables throughout the year. And thanks to the successful land management programme, the farmers have been cultivating vegetables on a large scale for a few years now.
This year, Sonam Chenzom is preparing to cultivate chilli on her terraced fields.
She said until 2019, the land was sloppy, and the crop production was not so promising.
But after doing land management, she said the production has increased and she is earning a good income. Sonam says her income has almost doubled.
“After the land management work, it has become convenient. Rainwater does not wash away the topsoil as it is no more on a sloppy landscape. Even we cultivated more vegetables. Earlier, we were unable to work on sloppy land. Now we cultivate chilli, potato and cabbage and we are able to sell it in schools.”
Like Sonam, Merchen Gurung also plans to cultivate vegetables on his one and a half acre of land this year. His land was recently turned into terraces. He left it fallow for more than seven years.
“I left it fallow since it is difficult to get workers. Now it is turned into terraces, and we don’t require many people to work. So, I am planning to cultivate vegetables. We can work with power tiller without having to hire labours.”
“With sustainable land management, production is increasing annually. After making land into terraces, we are able to work and use a power tiller,” said Sangay Rinzin, a farmer.
The Commercial Agriculture and Resilient Livelihoods Enhancement Programme or CARLEP and Orong Gewog Administration initiated the sustainable land management practice since 2019.
They developed 40 acres of land belonging to 28 households of Orong Gewog into terraces.
Kinley Wangchuk, Samdrup Jongkhar
Edited by Tshering Zam
