Bhutan’s pursuit of happiness takes root on its farms

Bhutan's 13th five-year plan sets a 2029 target for food self-sufficiency, backed by roughly $180 million in government investment, of which $139 million targets smallholder farmers, most of whom are women, according to the plan. Chef Bleu Tshering Dorji and agriculture ministry specialist Sonam Wangchuk told the Mongabay Newscast that steep terrain, unpaved roads, and lack of cold storage make farm-to-market transport the biggest obstacle, while young people increasingly leave farming altogether.

Wangchuk described a shift toward smaller, lighter power tillers so women can operate machinery previously built for men, and said the government is building 3,400 kilometers of fencing to curb human-wildlife conflict, a strategy he himself criticized as too uniform for the range of wildlife involved. Dorji framed the effort as sustaining landscapes and culture, not just producing food.

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