Poor potato harvest this year has left farmers in Trashigang worried about their annual income. They say yields have dropped drastically and fear they will not recover even half of what they invested. Farmers there grow potatoes as the main crop, producing thousands of metric tonnes each year.
Across major potato-growing gewogs in Trashigang, some farmers have already completed harvesting and stored their produce. However, most of the potatoes are only slightly larger than marbles, which will fetch lower prices in the market.
Others are still harvesting, but farmers say the smaller size of the tuber has reduced production this year. They say the potato plants began drying during the flowering season, resulting in poor yields.
Yangnyer, Kanglung, Udzorong, Khaling and Samkhar are the largest potato-producing gewogs in the district. On average, farmers in these gewogs earn around Nu 100,000 annually from potato cultivation.
“Last year, I used 50 bags of seed potatoes, but I harvested only 40 bags. This year, I used 30 bags as seed, and I don’t think I’ll recover that. Potatoes are our only source of cash income. I am worried about how we’ll earn this year,” said Tshering Yangki, Potato Grower, Kanglung Gewog, Trashigang.
“Last year, the harvest was good, but this year we didn’t receive enough rainfall, so production has dropped. In the past, a single household could produce a truckload of the tuber. But this year, even nine to 10 households combined can hardly produce the same amount,” said Sang Dorji, Potato Grower, Yangnyer Gewog, Trashigang.
“I think there are several reasons for the poor harvest. I think climate change has affected production. It is also time we replace potato seeds. Moreover, our crop was struck by disease midway through the growing season, causing most of the plants to die. Because of these factors, potato production has dropped by around 80 per cent,” said Deki Wangmo, Rangshikhar Tshogpa, Samkhar Gewog, Trashigang.
District agriculture officials say farmers have used old seed from previous harvests, resulting in poor yields. In addition, poor farming practices further made the crop more vulnerable to fungal diseases, causing the plants to dry up prematurely, reducing the overall production.
Officials say this year’s production figures are not yet available as some farmers are still harvesting their crop.
Last year, Trashigang produced more than 4,800 metric tonnes of potato.
To improve yields, agriculture officials distributed around 68 metric tonnes of potato seed last year to some households in Kanglung. They plan to continue distributing seeds this year as well.
Sonam Darjay, Trashigang.
Edited by Phub Gyem
