Recently a farmers’ group in Pema Gatshel said they will not be making orange pulp due to lack of demand. But now they are requesting the National Post Harvest Center to allow them to use an orange squash processing machine. They want to supply orange squash rather than pulp. Pulp is used to produce squash. The machine has been lying idle for nearly a decade outside their processing plant.
The orange squash processing machine has been gathering dust. The machine reached Pema Gatshel in 2012. The agriculture ministry bought the machine worth more than Nu 1 M. And it was used only once. The machine had a problem and they could not repair it.
“They need to train us first otherwise we will not be able to use the machine. We produced squash once with help from the officials when the machine first reached here,” said Sangay, a member of the group.
The machine is now in need of maintenance. The National Post Harvest Center manages the integrated food processing plant. The plant today remains unused. It is neither producing orange pulp nor squash.
The group members are now growing vegetables.
Thinley Dorji, Pema Gatshel
