People of Chhokhorling village in Pema Gatshel are excited with the commencement of land development program, one of the biggest wetland area developments undertaken in the Dzongkhag.
The land development work in the village is part of the 100 acres land development project in Pema Gatshel that is funded by the Commercial Agriculture and Resilient Livelihoods Enhancement Programme (CARLEP). The total project cost is Nu 10.5M.
Around 30 acres of land have already been developed so far using excavators.
In Chhokhorling village, two excavators have been deployed to develop land in Bafudhar. The land will be used for paddy cultivation next year.
A landowner, Zangpo, said the machines have developed almost half of the area and that they are expecting the work to be completed at the earliest.
Farmers had to leave some of their land fallow since it was not convenient for farming. “Now the government has deployed two machines to flatten the land. So we are very happy here,” said Zangpo.
Some farmers have already started soil improvement works in the newly developed land.
Kinzang Dorji, another landowner, said they are motivated to do their best. “We will be growing pumpkins and soya beans to add nutrition to the top layer of the soil as advised by the Agriculture extension office.”
Though villagers are equally worried of the COVID-19 outbreak, they are motivated to work hard and contribute towards food self-sufficiency in the country.
The Gewog Agriculture Extension Office is also planning to provide seeds to the farmers.
The Agriculture Extension Officer, Sangay Gyaltshen, said, “We have plans to cultivate winter vegetable by the end of this summer.”
Once the land development work is complete, Pema Gatshel will have one of the largest wetlands in the country.
Thinley Dorji
