Towards providing locally made nutritious vegetables and farm produce to schools, institutions and hospitals while creating easy market access to farmers, a two-day stakeholders’ consultation workshop is underway in Samtse.
This will be made accessible by linking farmer’s groups and cooperatives with potential domestic markets like schools, institutions, and hospitals.
Close to 100 people gathered in Samtse to discuss opportunities and way forward. They are school principals, farmer’s group chairpersons, officials from the education sector, the agriculture sector and state-owned enterprises. The need for various food commodities and the capacity of farmer’s groups to meet the demand were discussed.
“Our principals, RNR colleagues, and the respective groups and cooperatives will sit together to discuss and decide the final date to sign a contractual agreement. Followed by this meeting, we will be going to respective schools and gewogs to draw up a contractual agreement between suppliers and the respective schools,” said Megh Chettri, a Sr. Marketing Officer with Department of Agricultural Marketing and Cooperatives at the Ministry of Agriculture & Forests (MoAF).
Farmer’s groups and cooperatives present in the workshop were optimistic of the new and ready market opportunities.
“We are happy with an opportunity like this. We have been doing the same since last year with a school in Dorokha. We know we will be able to do it again given another opportunity like this. This enables us, farmers, to make more and more income every year. More income gives us the will to work more,” shares Dili Ram Rizal, the Chairperson of Dangreyboog-Ngagang Farmer’s Group at Dophuchhen Gewog in Samtse.
Tendruk Central School, one of the largest schools in the country in terms of student number has had success after linking with a farmers group last year. Seven institutions in Samtse are already linked with various farmers’ groups.
“They don’t grow potato in Tendruk, so, we decided we will procure potato from other vendors. Apart from that, as per our demand and according to the agreement we had, the farmers’ group was able to supply without any problems last year,” said Ugyen Dorji, the Principal of Tendruk Central School.
The principal said linking farmer’s groups and institutions is a win-win situation for both parties. As per the government directives, the Food Cooperation of Bhutan will fill in any supply gaps during lean seasons and for commodities, which are not available in certain places. The programme has covered 15 districts so far.
Sherub Dorji
