Unseasonal frost last week damaged the potato plants of most households in major potato-growing districts across the country. For instance, hundreds of acres of potato plants in more than 500 households of Bumthang and Wangdue Phodrang suffered damages. BBS could not obtain the full damage report but damages were also reported in parts of Haa.
In Bumthang, 190 acres of potato plants belonging to 222 households of all four Gewogs in the district have been damaged.
“We are currently talking with the district agriculture sector but they said there is nothing they can do for the affected farmers at the moment. However, we will submit the report to the government and see if there is any possibility of providing free potato seeds for the affected household as support for the next season,” said Jampel, the chairperson of Bumthang Dzongkhag Tshogdu.
Similarly, 282 households of Sephu, Gangtey, Phobji and Ruebisa Gewogs of Wangdue Phodrang also suffered damages.
“It was the price that disappointed us last year despite the good harvest. And this year, we have already experienced the frost and I think there will be anything to harvest,” said Tashi Dorji, Jangchen-Kumbu Tshogpa, Gangtey Gewog, Wangdue Phodrang.
In Haa, the district agriculture officer said the office has received reports adding that the damages were minimal.
Some chiwog tshogpas have informed the gewog agriculture extension office about the damages.
“The frost last week has severely damaged most of the potato plants here. Potatoes are an important cash crop for the people of Haa, so we are worried if they would even regrow now,” said Phub Gyeltshen, Geyrina-Kana Tshogpa, Uesu Gewog, Haa.
Agriculture officials in Bumthang and Wangdue Phodrang said they made a quick visit to all the affected areas to assess the extent of damages.
As per the preliminary field report in Wangdue Phodrang, some households lost 20 per cent of their potato plants while it went up to as high as 90 per cent for others.
In Bumthang, gewog agriculture extension officials are finalising damage reports and talking to the district agriculture sector to find possible ways to provide relief measures to the farmers.
Meanwhile, the Wangdue Phodrang district agriculture officer said that there is a possibility that the potato plants may regenerate since they are at the sprout development and vegetative growth stage. He added that with the district receiving continuous light rainfall these days, it would help the plants’ regrowth process.
However, he said that the damages might affect the yield this season.
According to the National Centre for Hydrology and Meteorology, NCHM frost usually occurs when the minimum night temperature drops very low. The centre said such a dip in temperature has been observed since last week.
The centre also added that such a phenomenon is unusual at this time of the year.
The NCHM did not warn of any such phenomenon last week. The centre said the occurrence of frost cannot be predicted.
Potato is one of the most important cash crops in the country for both domestic consumption and export. According to the Integrated Agriculture and Livestock Census of Bhutan 2022, there are more than 33,000 potato growers in the country producing around 260 truckloads of the tuber.
Phub Dorji
Edited by Kipchu
