Many people took up large-scale farming last year as the country faced a shortage of vegetables amid the pandemic. In Sarpang too, it was with great hope of making a good income that some farmers from Senggey Gewog started commercial farming by taking loans from the National Cottage and Small Industry (CSI) bank. Today their crops are ready for harvest. But there seems to be no market for the produce. This has the farmers worry over repaying loans to the CSI bank.
Tashi from Senggey Gewog started growing tomatoes on a commercial scale on more than an acre of land. He took the low-interest rate loan of Nu 320,000 from the National CSI bank. But today, he is concerned if his earnings from the sale of tomatoes could make repayment of the loan to the bank. He took his first tomato harvest of 22 kg to the Sarpang market last Sunday but there weren’t buyers. He could sell only one kg for Nu 25.
The price for the imported tomatoes is Nu 70 per kg.
“I could not travel to Gelephu as I had just 22 kgs. So I took it to Sarpang market but there were no buyers. I could sell only one kg. Now I am worried about how could I repay the loan,” he said.
To help the farmers sell their produce, the Senggye Gewog Agriculture Extension office is trying to find markets within the district. The gewog agriculture extension officer said the office is looking for arrangements to supply to schools and institutions in Sarpang.
“We have a vegetable group linked to the school feeding program. The vegetable group will cater local produce to our community school children,” said Thinley Wangdi, the Senggey Gewog Agriculture Extension Officer.
The market isn’t the only issue facing the farmers in Senggey Gewog. Dendup Tshewang, another farmer in the gewog who is growing onion on a large-scale doesn’t have a storehouse to let the onions dry after harvest. He said having invested the money he took from the CSI bank in onion farming, he had asked for support from the gewog agriculture extension office to construct a storehouse.
Dendup said, “It is time for harvest. We need a house to store the onions since it’s hot now. I would like to seek help from the government in procuring CGI sheets.”
To this, the gewog agriculture extension officer said he has forwarded the matter to the Dzongkhag Agriculture office as the gewog agriculture office doesn’t have the fund to support.
“It is time to harvest onion. The onion needs curing. People have approached our office. Since our gewog agriculture office has no fund to support the farmers, we have forwarded the letter to the Dzongkhag Agriculture Office for support,” said Thinley Wangdi, the gewog agriculture extension officer.
Six farmers from Senggey Gewog has availed CSI loan for commercial farming.
Karma Wangdi
