The Bhutanese Leading the way.
The people of Tshimakha chiwog in Bjachho gewog, Chukha, have used Her Majesty The Gyeltsuen’s project funds for electric fencing and to buy manure and high quality potato seeds.
The chiwog received Nu 1,854,650 in January this year, which amounts to more than Nu 68,000 for each of 27 households. The chiwog will repay the fund in 13 years without interest, which works out to each household paying an installment of Nu 6,900 in a year.
“We are actually exempted from paying the installment for the first three years but we decided to pay from this year because of the agriculture yield we have achieved,” said Tashi Wangdi, a farmer.
The project’s funds were not given in cash to the households but were used to buy potato seeds and manure that were distributed to the households.
Farmer Tashi Wangdi said that the fund has brought good results and the potato crop fetched Nu 2,000- Nu 3,000 a quintal. As gratitude, the chiwog first offered the crop to His Majesty.
With this, he said each household has Nu 15,000 left, which will be used to buy seeds for next year’s plantation. Tashi Wangdi said that research done by government officials had showed that 80 percent of their seeds were infected and of low quality. That is why they decided to buy seeds from another gewog.
Tashi Wangdi said that last year six households erected electric fencing; the remaining households felt they did not need it. So far the chiwog had erected 4 KM of electric fencing.
“Last year from the first day of plantation, wild animals started destroying the crop so we needed fencing but this year wild animals did not attack our crops, so we decided not to use budget for electric fencing,” Tashi Wangdi said.
He also said that he could never say wildlife has stopped destroying crops because of electric fencing because farms without electric fencing were not destroyed by wild life. “But I can say that it is useful to keep away cows and dogs,” Tashi Wangdi said.
The chiwog will pay their first installment of the fund on 1 September 2016.
