Farmers of Zhemgang, Trongsa, Tsirang and Sarpang can expect to increase 30 per cent of agricultural production by 2030. This will be done through a project called Building Resilient Commercial Smallholder Agriculture or BRECSA. The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock in collaboration with the United Nations World Food Programme and the International Fund for Agricultural Development launched the project in Gelephu yesterday.
According to the agriculture and livestock ministry, the BRECSA project activities will be aligned with the ministry’s 13th Five-Year Plan.
The project will focus on sustainable and resilient production systems, improved value chain coordination and market linkages like market-led production, and innovative and competitive agri-food sector.
During the launch, Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Thinley Namgyel highlighted the current challenges farmers are facing.
“30 per cent of farmers’ produce is lost to human-wildlife issues. And the major constraint that we face is in terms of post-harvest. Close to 15 to 20 per cent of our farmers’ produce is lost to post-harvest.”
The project is expected to benefit more than 12,000 households in 37 Gewogs of Zhemgang, Trongsa, Tsirang and Sarpang. The beneficiaries will include women, youth and people living with disabilities.
“The total beneficiaries are 12,074 of which 60 per cent will be women and 30 per cent will be youth. We are also looking at servicing around 600 people living with disabilities,” said Roshan Cooke, Country Director of IFAD.
“The Project also aimed to boost equitable employment and income generating opportunities for smallholders, farmers especially women and youth through capacity building,” said Sharma Maqbool, Representative of WFP.
The International Fund for Agricultural Development, and the Global Agriculture and Food Security Programme are supporting the project worth over USD 21 M which is about Nu 1.73bn through grant and loan. From that USD 2.6 M has been allocated to World Food Programme to provide technical assistance.
For now, a start-up workshop is underway in Gelephu to ensure all partners are on board for the implementation of the project. It will conclude on Thursday.
According to the agriculture and livestock ministry, the activities of the project will be decided after a series of consultations with the districts and Gewogs.
Karma Wangdi
Edited by Tshering Zam
