Natural Resources and Environment Committee of the National Council presented the interim report on the Renewable Natural Resources (RNR) Marketing Policy and Strategies today. Some members of the house later made a few recommendations which the committee will work and present in the final report.
The report states that the RNR sector comprises of agriculture, livestock and forestry which plays a significant role in terms of employment and revenue generation of the country. According to the report, major objectives of the report include strengthening the policy environment and institutional framework, RNR marketing infrastructure, enhancing RNR product value addition and marketing among others.
According to the chairperson of the committee, Tashi Samdrup, upon complaints by farmers on low prices of cash crops like cardamom, the issue was put in the plenary session. The committee was then directed to study the issue and initially began with the study of buyback policy. Later, it was decided to look into the entire policy.
After the presentation of the report by the committee, members also made their recommendations.
“If a storage place for crops brought to Phuentshogling could be established, it can benefit everyone. If people can store their crops in the storage place until the auction time, it can benefit them a lot,” said Sangay Dorji, the Member of Parliament (MP) of Chhukha.
“If the market for cash crops like cardamom is targeted only to India, Issues like GST might emerge in future as well. Therefore for people to market their crops, we should go beyond India and try to market to other places as well,” added Dhan Kumar Sunwar, the Tsirang MP.
“The farm shops built along the roads do not have proper infrastructure. These shops are also located away from villages. Therefore people face difficulty in taking back their unsold goods in the evening. It also lacks basic amenities like water and washrooms. This way the infrastructure is not utilized fully,” recommended Sangay Dorji, the Chhukha MP.
The Member of Parliament of Haa also recommended the committee to do a case study on specific crops. Recommendations on winter crops, auction accessibility and loans were also presented by the members.
Kinley Dem
