The Bhutanese Leading the way.
The government has already stored enough essential commodities to last for 6 months if there is a lockdown in the country.
During the Meet-the-Press yesterday, the Minister of Agriculture and Forests Yeshey Penjore said 23,766 metric tonnes (MT) of rice is being stored which will last the country for 12 months.
“In total 23,766 MT of rice will be stored which will be enough for 12 months. Actually, we need 1,657 cooking oil but so far 972 MT is being stored and 530 MT of pulse have been stored. More commodities are on the way, and in fact, the government is working on to secure essential commodities for six months,” he said, adding that Nu 104 mn worth of other consumer items have been stored by FCBL.
Lyonpo said that for 3 months, the government has already distributed the essential commodities in all the dzongkhags and now they have already started distributing to all the gewogs and villages.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister said, “There are 64,000 acres fallow lands in the country, and the government is discussing with the local leaders in all the dzongkhags. We will find the landowners and if they are interested they can use those lands for farming and the government will help them with the resources. They can also avail loan from the CSI bank with lower interest rate for the agriculture farming.”
Lyonpo added that lots of people are showing interest in vegetable production and the government is also focusing on the necessary vegetables that can be produced within short period of time.
