With the roadmap development process for the Himalayan Agroecology Initiative (HAI) taking shape in Bhutan, we had the chance to talk to Chhimi Dorji, Director, Tarayana Center for Research and Development, Tarayana Foundation, to take a closer look at the inner-workings that help pave the way to strengthen agroecology in the region.
IFOAM – Organics International: Can you tell us about the vision behind the agroecology roadmap for Bhutan? What inspired its development?
Chhimi Dorji: Bhutan has been promoting organic agriculture for many years. Organic agriculture framework, guidelines and strategies were developed and to some extent implemented. The agroecology roadmap is an extension of organic agriculture. This agroecology roadmap provides a holistic approach Bhutan’s sustainable agriculture development with a focus on sustainable food systems. This roadmap considers all the actors in the food systems from input supply to consumption and food waste management which goes beyond organic production.
IFOAM – Organics International: How would you describe the current state of agroecology in Bhutan? What are the key challenges and opportunities?
CD: In terms of policies and plans, Bhutan is in a favourable situation for agroecology. In terms of ground situations, Bhutanese agriculture has not undergone many changes. Most rural communities still rely on traditional farming with little external inputs.
However, the government’s thrust for commercial farming is not likely to favour agroecology. How will commercial farming impact smallholder agroecology-based farmers is not yet clear. If there is demand for naturally grown traditional foods, the Bhutanese farmers can benefit provided these products fetch premium prices.
Consultation of the local government of Dagana district. ©Tarayana Foundation.
IFOAM – Organics International: Can you walk us through the process of developing this roadmap? Who was involved, and how did you ensure inclusivity in decision-making?
CD: To understand the task at hand, the Tarayana team held consultations with persons and agencies familiar with agroecology. The first agency was the National Centre for Organic Agriculture and the team of researchers who explained the organic agriculture status, plans and strategies.
Then the team met with Ms Kezang Tshomo who is advisor to the Department of Agriculture and who was also the national task force member to the Himalayan Agroecology Initiative (HAI). After that, the team conducted an extensive review of literature with focus on policies and legislations and prepared a briefing note for the officials in the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MoAL). The briefing was attended by the Chief Planning Officer of the PPD, MoAL, Sr. Programme Officer, PPD, MoAL and representatives from the Department of Agriculture, Department of Livestock, Department of Agriculture Marketing and Department of Forest and Park Services.
The meeting resulted in identification of members to the Technical Working Group (TWG) and Advisory Committee (AC) and need to have Terms of Reference (ToR) for these groups. Further two rounds of TWG and AC consultations were held, and a first roadmap was prepared.
The draft roadmap was shared with local governments of two dzongkhags (districts) and four gewogs (blocks). These consultation meetings were attended by many stakeholders from government officials, elected local government officials, retailers, business operators, farmers groups and farmers.
The two districts represented a production centre and consumption centre respectively to allow comparison of similarities and differences. The findings did not show any significant contrast since all the blocks were remote with similar socio-economic environments.
The feedback, which was very limited, was incorporated in the draft and national level consultation was conducted which was well attended by the MPs, representatives from the relevant ministries, relevant agencies, cooperative members, farmers and international organisations.
All the while, the HAI roadmap guideline was followed to ensure inclusivity of the stakeholders.
IFOAM – Organics International: What role did farmers play in shaping this roadmap? Were there any surprising insights from their participation?
CD: The farmers benefited with awareness of the principles of agroecology and appreciated the agricultural practices that they still follow. One of the concerns expressed was difficulty getting the crop seeds and challenges they faced in storing the seeds.
Consultation with kana block & Chukha cooperative and business.©Tarayana Foundation.
IFOAM – Organics International: If successfully implemented, what tangible changes can Bhutan expect from this roadmap in the coming years? How would it influence national agricultural policies and food systems?
CD: One of the most tangible impacts of this roadmap will be multi-sectoral coordination in food systems governance, which will avoid duplication of efforts and resource wastage.
Meanwhile, this roadmap has the potential to benefit food-based industries and create jobs for many while ensuring safe and secure food for the country through efficient collection and distribution systems, value addition and waste reduction, food processing and packaging industries for prolonged shelf life and reduced food wastes.
IFOAM – Organics International: What have been the biggest challenges in getting policymakers, stakeholders, and communities to align with the roadmap? How did/ does your team navigate these challenges and the doubts arisen?
CD: The biggest challenge in this process lies in the fact that this roadmap does not offer immediate results that align with the ruling government’s priorities stipulated in the 13th Five Year Plan, such as commercial farms, food systems’ pathways and Agri-food sector strategy. This may explain the challenges we had in the initial engagement with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock.
Our team’s approach was trying to find alignments between the roadmap and the policy priorities stated in the food systems’ pathways and agri-food sector strategy as much as possible, with longer vision for the food systems in sight.
IFOAM – Organics International: Who are the key supporters of this initiative? Have there been any unexpected allies or partnerships?
CD: At the initial phase, Ms Kesang Tshomo, advisor to the Department of Agriculture was very supportive of this roadmap as she had already had earlier exposure to this HAI as a national task force member. The senior management in the Tarayana Foundation was very important for the team to move forward.
IFOAM – Organics International: Looking ahead, what does success look like for this roadmap in the next five to ten years?
CD: This roadmap must generate genuine interest to raise sufficient resources for implementation. It is hoped that there will be willing supporters of this roadmap that could mobilise resources to allow the implementation of the roadmap in its entirety.
IFOAM – Organics International: If there’s one message you want policymakers and organisations to take away from this roadmap, what would it be?
CD: This roadmap lays down the future of sustainable agriculture and needs full hearted support from all stakeholders for safe and secure food systems built on sustainable agriculture implementing agriculture practices based on agroecological principles.
©Tarayana Foundation.
