Hopes have rekindled once again for the villagers of Baeyul Kinza, one of the remote villages under Chhukha Dzongkhag. They are now looking forward to growing oranges once again, their only cash crop. The villagers had lost this cash crop to a citrus greening outbreak in the area in 2003. The ministry of agriculture and forests launched the citrus rehabilitation programme last month.
By 2009, all orange trees in the village were felled and burnt in order to eradicate the disease. Their yearly income of Nu. 40,000 to 600,000 were gone into the ashes.
As an alternate source of livelihood, villagers were provided with vegetable and maize seeds and also sub-tropical fruit plants. However, the returns from these crops were not as profitable as it was from oranges.
“Because of the past experience, villagers now have better understanding about nurturing of saplings, preventing outbreak of diseases and also in better management of income they earn from it. In my opinion, since the saplings provided by the government are disease free, our situation will definitely improve as compared to the past,” said Tashi Dorji, Bongo Gup.
According to Sonam, the Dzongkhag Agriculture Officer, similar programme will be launched in Loggchina Gewog under Phuentshogling Dungkhag.
The objective is to assist the villagers to revive what, once, used to be their main cash crop. The Remote Rural Community Development Project is funding the programme.
“The fund supported in procuring about nine thousand saplings. It was on cost sharing basis where the project supported 80 percent of the total cost for saplings and the rest the villagers did. The project also provided trainings to the villagers along with necessary equipment,” said Sonam, Chief Dzongkhag Agriculture Officer, Chhukha.
He added that about 9000 citrus grafts were planted in 117 acres of land.
Baeyul Kinza comprises of 57 households and takes about 4 hours on foot from the nearest road point.
