Farmers of Khurjungla-Langmizi chiwog of Nahi Gewog in Wangdue Phodrang have now added maize to their list of cash crops. This happened after they received a machine in September which can pound maize to make flattened corn. The machine has encouraged them to grow maize on a larger scale now. Until now they have been depending on vegetables and fruits as a source of livelihood. The village is also the first in the district to have such a machine.
26-year-old Thinley Gyeltshen is one of the villagers of Khurjungla-Langmizi chiwog who started making flattened maize a few years ago.
But due to the lack of a modern facility in his community, he made it the traditional way, that is by pounding maize.
The father of three recalls the hardship it takes to pound just a few kilograms of maize.
However, that experience has now become a memory as the new set of machine has replaced the traditional method.
The district administration provided the machine in September. The government spent more than Nu 200,000 to procure it.
It is being operated by a group of three farmers including Thinley Gyeltshen. They also received basic training to operate the machine.
This has encouraged farmers like Thinley Gyeltshen to expand maize cultivation starting next season.
“I earned more than Nu 20,000 by selling flattened corn this year with the help of the machine. Earlier, we used to fetch only around Nu 10,000,” said Thinley Gyeltshen.
There are around 15 households in the chiwog that mostly cultivate dry crops due to the shortage of irrigation water.
“Earlier, us men would beat the maize after the women have roasted the corn. This manual process of pounding maize was extremely difficult, especially for the elderly people,” said Gado, another farmer from Khurjungla-Langmizi chiwog of Nahi Gewog.
“This chiwog is a little behind compared to other chiwogs in Nahi Gewog in terms of opportunity for making income. Therefore, we are working towards creating equal opportunity for the farmers by diversifying and promoting the business of maize production,” said Gewog Agriculture Extension Officer Nado.
Thinley Gyeltshen says he did not face any market problems so far. The district agriculture sector supports the farmers in finding a market. The office also plans to diversify and develop various maize products apart from flattened maize for value addition and explore the market in future.
“It is easy to sell the flattened maize made from fresh corn in the market. We sell it directly to our dealers for Nu 200 per kg. We sell almost half of the product through the dealers, and sell the remaining by ourselves at Nu 250 to 300 per kg,” added Thinley Gyeltshen.
The agriculture sector is also exploring the feasibility of introducing buckwheat and sweet buckwheat processing units in the chiwog. Such initiatives are expected to boost the morale of farmers cultivating dry crops as the best alternatives, especially in areas facing a shortage of irrigation water.
Changa Dorji, Wangdue Phodrang
Edited by Phub Gyem
