With the onset of the winter season, farmers in the southern part of the country are gearing up for the winter vegetable production. Last year, more than 15,000 metric tonnes of vegetables were imported. And about half was imported during the winter season.
During winter, seven Dzongkhags in the south produce fresh vegetables. And at this time of the year, they are working hard to produce more this year. Some vegetables are ready to be harvested but some are still in the growing stage.
“We have been cultivating winter vegetables for years now. But this year we are cultivating more because of the ban on the import of vegetables,” said San Man Subba, from Tsirangtoe Gewog in Tsirang.
They say the ban on the import of vegetables has motivated them to work hard towards meeting the rising demand across the country.
“I feel we all got an opportunity to produce winter vegetables. So we will try to produce more winter vegetables. After the ban on the import, all of us in the village are trying to produce winter vegetables,” said Raj Mongar, a farmer in Sarpang.
“People are making good use of the lands. We expect and definitely, there will be more winter vegetable production this year because of the collaboration of farmers, government and specialists,” said Kinlay Tshering, the Director for the Department of Agriculture.
Farmers can not only earn a good income from selling these vegetables but can also utilize the fallow lands.
“If we could produce vegetables abundantly, the money will remain in the country itself. There is no need for import. Secondly, we can make use of fallow lands,” said San Man Subba.
“Out here, vegetables are organic as we do not use chemicals. We use the manure such as residue of animals. The imported contains chemical. If we import, the money goes out so it is important to retain our money inside the country,” added Kul Chandra Thapa, from Gosarling Gewog in Tsirang.
The Agriculture Ministry said this year, the focus will be on the production of those commonly imported vegetables such as chilli, onion, tomato, brinjal, cauliflower and beans. However, other vegetables will be also cultivated to provide enough nutrition to consumers.
“Chilli, onion and tomatoes will be a mandatory crop grown in all 20 Dzongkhags. import of beans and cauliflower has been banned for years and we are focusing on the local production of these vegetables as well,” the Director added.
The Ministry has been providing greenhouse, irrigation water, farm machinery and technical support to farmers to boost the production. Meanwhile, the Ministry will also be constructing three cold chain stores to store vegetables in Sarpang, Wangdue Phodrang and Trashigang soon.
Tshering Zam
