In what is an encouraging sign for high-altitude rice cultivation, a family at Gaytsa in Bumthang has yet again reaped another round of good harvest this year. The family first cultivated the high-altitude rice variety last year. However, experts say this could be a sign of climate change taking its grip on the Bhutanese ecology.
40-year-old Tshewang Samdrup grew the crop on a 20-decimal land last year. This year, he has doubled the cultivation after a positive yield from the first harvest. He cultivated Jakar Rey Nap, a high-altitude rice variety grown in warmer areas of Bumthang since 2004. Gaytsa is almost 3000 meters above sea level. Before Tshewang, no one in the village tried the crop here.
“Our parents have not tried growing the rice as they never thought it would thrive at this altitude. So, I started it as it has successfully been growing in Chamkhar for years. With the crop viable in my village now, I am happy as we don’t have to go to warmer places to fetch rice,” said Tshewang Samdrup.
Tshewang’s mother Choki says the place has become much warmer in recent years. Crops like maize and chilli could not be raised in the village in the past, unlike today.
“Unlike these days, we cannot gather buckwheat early in the morning due to frost. It used to get very cold after buckwheat harvest but now it doesn’t even snow as heavy as it used to. The snow even melts faster now,” said Choki.
The cultivation was also piloted in lower areas of Chhumey such as Terzoed and Takar and proved to be a success. Another family in Uruk also started growing the crop this year. The Gewog agriculture office is supporting the farmers with greenhouses to raise seedlings.
With rice cultivation clearly on the rise in the gewog, experts claim that the trend could be due to climate change. A team of researchers at the Ugyen Wangchuck Institute for Conservation and Environment Research in Bumthang is studying such changes in crop pattern, insect population, animal disease and climate among others throughout the country. The five-year project which started last year will be able to ascertain if new farming trends such as the cultivation of paddy in colder places such as Gaytsa is influenced by climate change.
Kipchu, Bumthang
Edited by Tandin Phuntsho
