In Samdrup Jongkhar, farmers of Shokshi Chiwog rely primarily on livestock rearing. They produce over 300 litres of milk daily. In addition to raising cattle, they cultivate cash crops and vegetables. However, the lack of proper road connectivity has made transporting their produce to the market a challenge.
Shokshi Chiwog is divided into two areas, the settlement is located in the upper part, while agricultural land and livestock housing are located in the lower region, locally known as Meng Meng.
Currently, road connectivity has reached only up to the settlement area.
Every day, villagers like Leki Chezom walk downhill to tend to their cattle, milk them, and feed them.
She then carries seven litres of milk on her back and walks uphill to the collection point, located near the road. The journey takes her nearly an hour.
“Without a road, it is difficult. We have one milk group where I have to walk to deliver milk at the milk group located at the road point.”
She said villagers prefer to cultivate crops and rear livestock because the land is fertile and has better fodder availability compared to their settlement area. Most own hybrid cows.
However, without a road, they continue to face daily hardships.
Kinzang Dorji, a villager said “Whatever we cultivate, we have to carry it on our back till the road point. It is challenging. If we get a farm road, it will benefit us a lot.”
Zangmo, another villager said “I have to come here daily to feed animals. Fodders are available here so, we rear cattle here. However, without a farm road, we have to struggle every day.”
The Shokshi Chiwog supplies dairy products such as butter and cheese to Samdrup Jongkhar town and other districts.
According to the Wangphu Gewog Administration, budget constraints hindered the farm road construction so far.
However, the Gewog administration has proposed eight million ngultrum in the next financial year to construct more than four kilometres of farm road.
Until the farm road is constructed, 60 households of Shokshi Chiwog will have to continue carrying their agricultural and livestock products on foot.
Kinley Wangchuk, Samdrup Jongkhar
Edited by Tshering Zam
