The Bhutanese Leading the way.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MoAL) is advancing its efforts to address labor shortages in the agriculture sector with a draft Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) aimed at facilitating the employment of seasonal laborers from neighboring countries. This initiative, in collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) and the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Employment (MoICE), represents a temporary solution to meet the high demand for labor during peak cultivation and harvesting seasons.
The SOP, which is still a work in progress, is the result of consultations among the relevant ministries to ensure the policy aligns with country’s immigration and labor laws.
Speaking about the collaborative approach, the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Younten Phuntsho, said, “Import of foreign labor in the agriculture sector is considered to address the immediate pressing issue of labor shortage in the sector. However, in the process of allowing foreign workers in the sector, it is important that such initiatives also comply with the relevant legislations of the country to avoid ramifications in the process. The import of foreign labor covers certain legal aspects pertaining to the immigration and labor laws, rules and regulations.”
“Therefore, the ministry has been actively consulting MoHA on immigration and MoICE on labor laws. We have held two rounds of secretary level meetings and several technical meetings with the two ministries,” the minister added.
The draft SOP was recently presented at a trilateral secretary meeting on 29th October 2024, where it received provisional endorsement. Following feedback from stakeholders, the SOP will soon be submitted to the Cabinet for final approval.
The officials from the MoAL said that initially the draft proposal proposes to pilot the initiative in southern border dzongkhag before rolling out to other dzongkhags on a sandbox model initiative. Those districts that share border with India, having huge farmland but are left fallow including vast stretches of paddy field, will be considered for piloting. Even within the chosen districts, pilot sites will be identified in the close vicinity bordering India where day worker hiring is going to be possible, meaning the workers will have to make exit on the same day of entry from the border gates.
For many Bhutanese farmers, such a seasonal labor initiative promises to bring much-needed relief in terms of cost and availability of labor during the peak cultivation and harvesting seasons.
Domestic labor costs are currently high, averaging around Nu 700 per day, including food provisions. In contrast, foreign seasonal workers would require significantly lower wages, approximately Nu 300-400 per day, which could reduce production costs for farmers by an estimated thirty percent.
With the cost of domestic labor being a challenge, this initiative offers a viable alternative that makes economic sense. The SOP is designed to give farmers the option to hire foreign labor when local resources fall short, helping to balance the needs of the agriculture sector and reduce expenses.
The minister said, “Protecting the rights and welfare of foreign laborers is central to the SOP, which includes specific guidelines to ensure workers’ health, safety, and fair compensation. The SOP mandates health checks at points of entry and requires employers to provide basic safety equipment, such as gloves, boots, and appropriate tools, for laborers working in agriculture. Moreover, all seasonal workers are to be insured as per country’s labor rules, and they must be paid wages no lower than the national minimum.”
“Ensuring that these laborers are protected and treated fairly is as important as filling the labor gaps,” emphasized the minister.
It was said that while the pilot program targets only specific districts for now, the success of the initiative will shape future plans. “We see this as one of many solutions to address labor shortages, but it’s a temporary fix,” said the minister, noting that the long-term focus remains on reducing the reliance on manual labor through structural changes.
“We’re exploring mechanization, high-value crop cultivation, and collective farming as complementary measures to boost agricultural productivity sustainably,” he added.
The ministry’s concurrent initiatives are developing a loan proposal with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to fund agricultural machinery, including power tillers, tractors, and combined harvesters, which would enable farmers to adopt more efficient, mechanized methods. Additionally, the ministry is promoting high-value crops that require less labor, but offer greater income potential, as well as encouraging collective farming to foster cooperation and labor-sharing among farming groups and cooperatives. Promotion for commercial farming through collective farming (FGs and Coops) for the greater economies of scale and encourage labor sharing amongst the members.
The minister said that once the SOP receives Cabinet approval, MoAL, in partnership with district and gewog administrations, will inform farmers about the initiative and gather feedback on labor requirements and terms. The ministry plans to solicit expressions of interest for the establishment of an Agriculture Foreign Work Management Firm, which will manage the recruitment and coordination of foreign laborers.
“The pilot phase will also serve as a learning period, allowing the ministry to assess the impact on local communities, gather feedback, and refine the program as needed. With farmer feedback, the ministry hopes to better understand the pilot’s benefits and challenges, ultimately determining whether to expand the program to other areas or scale back,” said the minister.
