To preserve and supply surplus vegetables, dairy products, and meat items to schools, the government has been building Cold Storage Facilities in different regions of the country. However, the farmers are still reluctant to capitalize on the opportunities of the cold storage facilities. In Wangdue Phodrang, only three people have used the facility after it opened some five months ago.
The cold storage facility at Rinchengang in Wangdue Phodrang was opened in August last year.
It has thirteen chambers with the total capacity to store three hundred tons of vegetables, fruits and livestock products.
Today, only three chambers are being used by three individuals. They have been storing meat items and potatoes for about five months now.
The rest of the chambers have been empty.
According to the District Agriculture Officer, people are apprehensive about changes in the prices of the products. They fear that they might not get the expected prices if they keep the products stored for months.
District Agriculture Officer, Choeki Wangchuk said, “Firstly, people have no experience in storing the products which makes them lack confidence in the facility. And secondly, they say our storage is far from market, which could incur huge transportation charge.”
Another factor deterring people from using the facility is the fee for utilizing the facility.
They have to pay 33 Cheltrum per kilogram in a month to store the product, which the agriculture officer says is affordable.
In an effort to show that farm produce can be stored for a longer duration at the facility, the District Agriculture Office and the Food Corporation of Bhutan, FCBL have stored chillies in one of the chambers for over a month.
The demonstration is expected to encourage farmers to use the cold storage facility.
Choeki Wangchuk said, “We have started storing vegetables and other products on trial. We found out that Chilies can be stored for a month. If we store chillies for more than a month, it starts drying up. Likewise, we can store potatoes for about 4 months. After that, the sugar content in potatoes decreases.”
“The chillies started drying up because there is no auto-humidifier. There is neither a data recording system nor a setting facility. So, I think there is a need for an auto humidifier facility at the cold storage,” said Sangay Thinley, the in-charge of the Cold Storage Facility.
They also plan to store other products and sensitize the people.
Besides, the District Agriculture Office has been creating awareness about the facility through Gewog Agriculture Extension officials.
It seems only time will reveal whether farmers will embrace the cold storage facility enabling them to supply vegetables, fruits and livestock products during off-seasons, yielding financial gains or the cold storage constructed with 56 million ngultrum will become another underutilized structure.
Changa Dorji, BBS, Wangdue Phodrang
Edited by Sangay Chezom
