News Letter Vol5 Go Bhutan Organic

8/3/2019 News Letter Vol5 Go Bhutan Organic

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Field letter of internship at Samdrup Jongkhar Initiative by Chisato Maeda, Wageningen University- Vol.5 15 September 2011

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OORRGGAANNIICC FFAARRMMIINNGG TTRRAAIINNIINNGG IINNSSAAMMDDRRUUPP JJOONNGGKKHHAARR

On March to April 2011, 19 farmers, who wereselected as local leaders of organic farming, gottrained at counterpart, Navdanya (NGO in India)intensively (see news letter vol1). Mr. Negi, a trainerof Navdanya, came to Bhutan to conduct 10 daystraining in Samdrup Jongkhar (S/J) from 12th to 22nd

July. Two local farmers in Deothang, who joinedorganic farming training in India, helped the training,demonstrating how to make compost to theparticipants in three villages. 20-30 farmersparticipated in each village. A farmer who came latecomplained, Why didnt you inform me? I alsowanted to join! It seems that they are veryinterested to learn new things.

Workshop on plant breeding and seedconservation

Farmers preserve seeds of rice, maize, and beansby themselves, but they get vegetable seeds mostlyfrom AEO (Agricultural Extension Officer) or buyfrom Indian market. According to farmers, quality ofseeds provided by AEO is better than that of ownpreserved. Mr. Negi told them that if they rely onseeds from India or AEO, they may face problems infuture. Seeds were supplied for free also in India bygovernment before, and farmers forgot how toproduce by themselves. Now farmers in India relyon buying hybrid seeds of multi-national company,which became extra financial burden for them.Farmers in Deothang asked many questions to him

about how to produce spinach seeds, how topreserve it, seed treatments against pest anddiseases.

Post harvest technology

One of the challenges to do farming in S/J is postharvest losses. Especially, in monsoon season,maize storage loss is amounted to 30%. Mr. Negiadvised farmers how to preserve and treat seeds;There is no single solution. It depends on the localcondition, crop species, specific pest and diseases.So, it is important to combine several technologies.Use clean seeds, dry properly (ie. hanging cobsabove stove with smoke). Mixing with dried plantssuch as Neem (Azadirachta indica) or pepper can

suppress pest problems. Some pest repellantweeds can be toxic for human, such as tobaccoleaves. These are only used for un-threshed grainor seed grain.

Practical training on Integrated Nutrientmanagement

The soil is getting old, and cannot work well. If weneglect it, the soil also becomes lazy, just likehuman being.(a farmer in Phuntshothang gewog)

Farmers commented on their soil humorously; thesoil is also aging. It is required to refill energy torevive the old soil. Punch gaviya(five wastes fromcow) is applied as a promoter of micro-organism,originated in India. Five wastes from caw (dung,urine, milk, curd and ghee) are mixed (see therecipe below) and applied before plowing. Punchgaviya was demonstrated during the training.According to a farmer, his weak potato was revivingits health after spreading this. The farmerenthusiastically said, I was shocked to see theplants growing very fast, same as using urea.

Besides composting, nutrient can be incorporatedby planting green manure, and intercropping withleguminous crops. Also, it is important to preventsoil loss by various soil and water conservationpractices. A farmer said we are also traditionallypracticing intercropping or mulching, but did notknow why we are doing. Today, we understand theimportance of nutrient and soil conservation.

Ingredient of punch gaviyaper acre: Cow dung 5kg Cow urine 5 litter Milk 2 litter Curd 2kg Ghee 500g

Go Organic @Bhutan

Organic farming training in Rekhey


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FFIIEELLDD VVIISSIITTSS

During my stay in Bhutan, I was personally curiousto know various aspects of agriculture in localcontext, and visited many local organizations or

programs in addition to the farm interview.

Sunday market in Phuntshothang

In S/J market, most of the vegetables are comingfrom India, and difficult to find local fresh products.On the other hand, weekly vegetable market is theplace where we can find local products.Phuntshothang Sunday Market is held once in aweek from early morning until noon. It was crowdedwith local people selling and buying freshvegetables. Most of the products sold here arelocally produced. Highland farmers come down onlyonce a week by horse, taking three hours, to selltheir products. I was excited to see Banana flowers,Bamboo shoots, wild potatoes, which are notusually sold at dairy market.

Highland farmers come to Sunday market with horse

Auction yard in Samdrup Jongkhar

Auction yard is a system to optimize the interactionbetween growers and buyers, operated by FoodCorporation of Bhutan (FCB). There are four auctionyards in Bhutan; Samtshe, Gueleph, Phuntsholingand Samdrup Jongkhar. The main products tradedin S/J are two; orange (traded from 15 th November

to 28th

February) and potato (traded from 1st

June to30th November). Buyers should be registered beforethe auction. According to the staff of FCB, 10-15buyers registered for potato, and 40-50 for orangeand most of the buyers are from India. Growers arefrom Bhutanese eastern six districts. Orangegrowers are mostly from Pemagathel and S/J.Farmers grade theirproducts into 3-4levels by themselves,and they get a Lotcard from FCB.

Buyers are allowedto slit the bag toassess the quality ofthe products. Lots

are given to the highest bidder, and FCB collectsthe payment from the buyer to ensure the incomefor growers. Instead, FCB charges 6% commission;3% from the growers and 3% from the buyers.

Potato import from India is increasing. Especially,

from January to April, potato price is substantiallydropped in India. Indians buy potatoes from Bhutan,because the quality of potato in Bhutan is better.Also, India cannot supply enough amount of potatoduring off-season (Sep-Nov), which is Bhutanspeak season, said a staff of FCB. Demand forpotato seeds is considerable in November in India,when they start to sow potato. Farmers in S/J do notgrow much quantity now. AEO in Deothang is tryingto form a potato group to catch up the increasingdemand.

Reviving Indigenous chicken projectRNR-RC Jakar in Bhumthang is challenging torevive local chicken breed under the cooperation ofNational Biodiversity Center (NBC) and College ofNatural Resource (CNR). Bhutanese indigenouspoultry breeds are in danger due to introducedcommercial breeds. According to a researcher fromRNR-RC Jakar, improved chickens have forgottenhow to hatch and grow their own chicks. New bornchicks need mothers heat, but improved chickensdo not take care of their chicks. So, farmers have tobuy chicks every time to replace. Indigenous breeds

produce less egg, but physically stronger and eggproduction lasts longer. In addition, indigenousbreeds have more nutritional values. Fourindigenous breeds of chicks, 60 in total were born inthe hatchery in CNR.

Tokokga Organic farm and OrganicFarmers Market

Tokokga organic farm is a private farm nearPunakha. The farm manager Mr. Rinchen Dorji, gota mission to establish organic farm and to multiplyorganic varieties in 2009 after retirement from Druk

Seed company. He is growing indigenous variety aswell as imported varieties from Europe and SouthAsia to increase agro-biodiversity. Main cash crops


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are basil, celery, cabbage and maize. It was firsttime to hear that maize is a cash crop, as most offarmers grow it for self-consumption. According toMr. Rinchen, corn can be cash crop. Whenprocessed, it can be sold at double price; Nu.20(1$=Nu.45) per corn. Totokga also grows forgotten

cereal species such as pearl millet, finger millet, andfoxtail millet. Millets are not grown these daysbecause of diet change and introduction of moreproductive crops such as rice. Birds especially likemillets and sometimes all millets are eaten, if notcared well. Tokokga grows them to preserve culturalvalues.

(L) Pearl millet (R) Corn double priced just by baking

Farmers market in Thimphu is held every weekend,from Friday to Sunday. In the ground floor, cerealsor imported vegetables are mainly sold, and firstfloor is allocated only for local products, alsoOrganic Farmers corner is located there. Tokokgaorganic farm brings the products to farmers marketon Friday, and products are almost sold out onSaturday, According to the manager, production is

not enough for consumer demand. However,organic products for domestic market are not yetformally certified as organic. According to a staff ofNational Organic Program (NOP), organiccertification standard is already formed, but trainingfor certification agent is necessary beforeimplementation.

DDOOEESS OORRGGAANNIICC FFAARRMMIINNGG IINNCCRREEAASSEEGGRROOSSSS NNAATTIIOONNAALL HHAAPPPPIINNEESSSS ((GGNNHH))??

One of the reasons I decided to do internship inBhutan was my interest in GNH; whether OrganicAgriculture can contribute to increase GNH. GNHindicators used by Center for Bhutan Studies are;(1) Psychological well-being, (2) Time use, (3)

Community vitality, (4) Culture, (5) Health, (6)Education, (7) Environmental diversity andresilience, (8) Living standard, and (9) Governance.

Agro-ecological sustainability assessment wasconducted in terms of 3P sustainability (EN:environment, EC: economic and SC: socialsustainability) in line with GNH indicators. Among 9GNH indicators, considering accessibility of dataand relation with agriculture, Time use, Community

vitality, Health, Environmental diversity andresilience, and Living standard were used.

(1) Environmental diversity and resilienceEN1 Soil quality / EN2 Agro-biodiversity /EN3 Landscape

(2) Living standardEC1 Productivity / EC2 Income / EC3Operation costs

(3) Time UseSC1 Labour input

(4) HealthSC2 Food self-sufficiency

(5) Community VitalitySC3 collective action

The results show that indicators obtained for thehilly areas, where maize is mainly cultivated, wererelatively high and well-balanced. On the other hand,in the plains, where paddy is main crop, values werelower for time use and living standard (Figure 1).

Figure1. Spider diagram of agro-ecologicalsustainability assessment

In terms of improving GNH, all dimensions shouldbe developed in balanced. However, there aretrade-offs between indicators such as costs, profit,and labour requirement. Farm machinery to savelabour will increase operating costs, and probablydecrease community vitality due to substitution ofexchange labour by machinery. It is required todevelop appropriate technology to save labourwithout harming social relationship andenvironment.

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

EN1 soil

quality

EN2 agro-

biodiversity

EN3

landscape

EC1

productivity

EC2 income

EC3

moderate

cost

SC1 labour

SC2 self-

sufficiency

SC3 social

cohesion

Hilly maize 1 Hilly maize 2Plain rice 1 Plain rice 2


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CCUULLTTUURRAALL EEXXPPEERRIIEENNCCEE IINN BBHHUUTTAANN

Big families nurture hospitality

Every time I stayed at Bhutanese home, I was

welcomed by big families. It is common to seenephew, niece, brother-in-low, and even relatives ofsister-in-lows are staying in one house. I consider

you as part of my family. Sometimes my uncle toldme to take care of his relatives or friends. So we areused to welcoming guests, said a friend. Nowonder Bhutanese are hospitable to strangerswherever I go. This big family system may naturallynurture hospitable mind.

What makes ones life complete?

What makes your life 100%? Money? Love?When alphabet is converted into number (A=1,B=2Z=26);

- MONEY=13+15+14+5+25=72%, 28% is lacking- LOVE=12+15+22+5=54%, less than money!- LUCK=12+21+3+11=47%; only luck cannot work,

- HARD WORK =8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11=98%,Almost! But 2% is missing.

Then, what makes life complete?- ATTITUDE=1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5=100%Yes, attitude toward life can make our life 100%.Change attitude, and be happy!

Bhutanese doctor said he never saw somebody getstomach ache due to stress, except eating too muchchili. Bhutanese do not take small failure seriously. Inoticed that happiness comes from the attitudeother than anything else, and that Bhutanese hasnatural potential to be happy.

Sustainable livelihoodComing back to Japan, I realized that too manypackaged foods are flooding everywhere in Japan.We can enjoy any vegetables in any time withchemical additives. Kids cannot see how carrots aregrown in the soil. Convenient food supply deprivesthe feeling of seasonal change and thus the mind tothank for natures gift. Difficult to find veges inoff-season in Bhutan, but I feel happy to finddifferent fruits in different cities and seasons. Fivemonths stay in Bhutan gave me important lessons.

This is the final letter and the end of my story inBhutan, however, my challenges never endThankyou for reading. Hope to see you somewhere in thissmall world. Final report can be requested.

Contact: Chisato MaedaMSc Organic Agriculture Wageningen [email protected]/[email protected]

Acknowledgements

First of all, thanks for all farmers interviewed. I appreciateSJI members, staffs of RNR and CNR for their help. Theresearch was under the supervision of Biological Farming

Systems Group in Wageningen University and Navdanya(Indian NGO). Finally, warm wishes to readers.

Druk Ge Goem The Guest

A tourist from New York, Michael got lost in the trekfrom Gasa to Laya. A yak herder in Laya, Tshomo,found a man injured in the forest and took him in hercamp. They do not understand with each other, and tryto communicate by body language. Finally, Michaelproposed her to marry him. Druk ge geom. (the guest)shows Bhutanese great hospitality to treat the guests.

Travelers and Magicians

The two stories on a traveler and a magician are onparallel. A new officer transferred to a remote village,travels to Timphu to have interview in pursuit for thedream to go to America, while a magician tries toescape from boring village and met a beautiful womanin a forest. Both are longing for better life. The magician

tries to kill her husband to marry her. The officergradually gets attracted by a girl, whom he met duringhis travel. Going to America or back to the village? Bothtraveler and magician are caught in dilemma.

The Golden cup

The film depicts the curse of the golden cup, a talismanof good fortune, which passes on to all the women in

the family generations. Lhamo, betrayed by her loverTshering while pregnancy, devoted her life to evil powerpassed from her mother to revenge his new family. Sherevenged finally, but it made her empty and grieved. Inthe end, she killed herself before her evil power waspassed to her and Tsherings daughter. Tashi Delek !
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News Letter Vol5 Go Bhutan Organic

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