Agriculture, Livestock & Forestry
  
HOME NEWS PICTURE GALLERY ABOUT US WHO IS WHO MORE...   Publications Program Profile Feed Back Login
 

GEARING NATION TOWARDS FOOD SELF-SUFFICIENCY !!!

Research & Development Center Bajo

Department of Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture & Forests, Royal Govt of Bhutan.

CEREALS

Rice LOW ALTITUDE
Rice HIGH ALTITUDE
Rice MIDDLE ALTITUDE
Rice RATOONING
Rice DOUBLE CROPPING
Rice SEED PRODUCTION
Wheat PRODUCTION

FRUITS & NUTS

Walnut PRODUCTION

VEGETABLES

Chilli PRODUCTION
Tomato PRODUCTION

LIVESTOCK

Pig PRODUCTION
Rice Fish CULTURE

FORESTRY

Forestry RESEARCH

SOIL/WATER MANAGEMENT

Maize TRASHLINE

PLANT PROTECTION

Pest & Diseases

Important Links

IRRI
Kuensel
Ministry of Agriculture
FAO
AGORA
CountrySTAT Bhutan
National Portal of Bhutan
CIMMYT
VERCON
PLAMS
MoAF Discussion Forum

 

Program Profile

 

Farming Systems

 

Farming Systems (FS) in the 10FYP will include Plant protection, Soils, Water and Socio-Economics disciplines. These disciplines will work as a team to look into farming system problems and issues in collaboration with other allied sectors. As emphasized by other sectors, the FS sector’s research approach will be pro-poor farmers and will be and participatory in nature. As much as possible, technologies generated will be practical and applicable to farmers and communities.

The FS programme is divided into sub-programs, projects and activities to enable for ease of implementation and monitoring. The proposed projects under each sub-program will be linked to other sub-program and projects of other programmes. The program structure is follows.

Table 8: Program Structure for Farming Systems in 10FYP
Subprogram 01: Soils FC Horti. Livestock Forestry Farming Systems
Soil Water IPM SE
Project 1 Plant nutrient management for FCs x x x x o x
Project 2 Plant nutrient management for Horticulture Crop x x x o x
Project 3 Land management x x x x o x
Project 4 Soil fertility technology for organic farming x x x x o x
Subprogram 02: Water Management
Project 1 Watershed Management x x x x x o x x
Project 2 Irrigation System Management x x x x o x
Project 3 On-farm Water Management x x x o x
Project 4 Water Harvesting x x x xx x o x
Subprogram 03: Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
Project 1 Insect Pest Management x x o
Project 2 Disease Management x x o
Project 3 Weed Management x x o
Project 4 Organic pest & disease management x x o
Subprogram 04: Socioeconomic
Project 1 Production economics x x x x x x o
Project 2 Diagnostic studies x x x x x x x o
Project 3 Adoption/Impact assessment x x x x x x x o
Project 4 Gender studies in NRM x x x x x x x o

Table 9: Program structure and linkages to other major research programmes for Farming Systems in the 10FYP
Sub-program Project Code/Description Research Programs Farming Systems
FC HC L F SR WMR IPMP SER
Soils 1.1 Plant nutrient management for FC ? ? ? ? x ?
1.2 Plant nutrient management for HC ? ? ? x ?
1.3 Land management ? ? ? ? x ?
1.4 Soil fertility technology for OF ? ? ? ? x ?
Water 2.1 Watershed Management ? ? ? ? ? x ? ?
2.2 Irrigation System Management ? ? ? ? x ?
2.3 On-farm Water Management ? ? ? x ?
2.4 Water Harvesting ? ? ? ? ? x ?
IPM 3.1 Insect Pest Management ? ? ? x
3.2 Disease Management ? ? ? x
3.3 Weed Management ? ? ? x
3.4 Organic pest & disease management ? ? ? x
Socio-economic 4.1 Production economics ? ? ? ? ? ? x
4.2 Diagnostic studies ? ? ? ? ? ? ? x
4.3 Adoption/Impact assessment ? ? ? ? ? ? ? x
4.4 Gender studies in NRM ? ? ? ? ? ? ? x


Major Activities

Variety improvement
Introduction, evaluation and cross breeding activities will be carried out for major crops to increase the range of varietal choices to farmers. Emphasis will be given on the utilisation of indigenous germplasm. In rice, improvement of local varieties through cross breeding will continue with focus on humid areas (Tsirang and Dagana). In maize, breeding for disease resistance will be accelerated. The evaluation of introduced exotic varieties for other crops will be continued.

Soil fertility management
Limited use of inputs is a constraint to achieve higher yields. Activities, focused in development and promotion of integrated plant nutrient system, will receive attention. In rice, the use of balanced fertilization will be promoted. Green manuring in areas where organic matter is deficient will be encouraged. In maize, which is grown in erosion-prone areas, land management using different techniques will be researched and accelerated. Water and soil improvement will receive attention particularly in wheat. For Gasa, special efforts to develop fertility management options for organic production will be stepped up.

Pest management
Efforts will be exerted in refining integrated pest management technologies in all the crops. This will include crop breeding for pest resistance, especially in rice and maize. Blast is a major constraint in rice, and newly emerged GLS and TLB are main problems in maize. Activities already underway in cross breeding will be emphasized. In other crops, appropriate IPM options will be explored. Field crops program will work closely with the Farming systems sector in pest management.

Processing and marketing
So far, research and development activities have been largely focused on mainstream technology development ignoring post harvest, processing and marketing aspects. For holistic development of any commodity, the latter aspects are very important. Special attention will be given to developing and promoting processing, product development and value addition together with market promotion and market linkages.

The table below summarizes the project-wise activities.

Table 10: Major projects and activities in Farming Systems
Sub-program Projects Major activities
Soil Plant nutrient management for FCs • Integrated nutrient management on rice
Plant nutrient management for Horticulture Crop • Study on farmers’ nutrient management for citrus orchard
Land management • Study on the impact of shifting cultivation practice in Patale, Tsirang
• Sustainable farm land management
Soil fertility technology for organic farming • Literature review on soil nutrient management for rice and potato
• Testing and validation of the management technologies
• Vermi-composting
• Study on manure value of livestock under traditional farmers’ management
Water Watershed Management • Gairigoun watershed management
• Provide TA to LWMG (Lingmuteychu WS)
• River Basin Management plan development studies
• Study on development of PES
Irrigation System Management • Catchment management studies
• Secondary conveyance system improvement
• Irrigation water sharing system
• Water user group studies
On-farm Water Management • Study on improvement of on-farm water availability
• Water demand management
Water Harvesting • Rainwater harvesting
• Surface water harvesting
• Groundwater harvesting
• Storage system development
IPM Insect Pest Management • Study on stored pest management for maize, rice & wheat
• Study biology of citrus HLB psyllid
Disease Management • Study on the mycotoxin content in maize & maize products
• Test efficacy of fungicides for control of maize diseases (GLS & TLB)
• Delineation of Phytopthora prone zone in citrus orchards in Tsirang
• Reconfirm HLC presence or absence in Tsirang & Dagana through PCR test
Weed Management • Weed management in potato & rice
Organic pest & disease management • Literature review on organic pest & disease management on rice & potato
• Testing and validation of organic pest management technologies
Socio-economic Production economics • Economic analysis of field crops, mandarin and walnut
• Economics of livestock production (poultry & piggery)
Diagnostic studies • Diagnostic studies
Adoption/Impact assessment • Adoption of farm mechanization (power tiller)
• Impact assessment of research technologies
Gender studies in NRM • Gender studies on CBNRM in action research sites (ARC)
• Socio-economic impact of alcohol consumption on Taksha-Silli Community
• Study on gender participation in water management



Copyright © Research & Development Center Bajo, Ministry of Agriculture & Forests, Bhutan

Hit Counter