°µÍøÁÔÆæ

About the Project

In Bhutan, $13 million in funding will commercialize the value chains of select agriculture commodities to contribute to post-COVID-19 economic recovery and the development of resilient food systems.  

This project will build upon existing programs in Bhutan that have successfully supported the production and commercialization of agriculture. Including the °µÍøÁÔÆæ-supported °µÍøÁÔÆæ Security and Agriculture Productivity Project (FSAPP). The project will directly address systemic barriers in the agriculture sector; and post-COVID challenges and priorities identified in Bhutan’s Renewable Natural Resources (RNR) Strategy, and food self-sufficiency policy. The project will work through an inclusive value chain development approach to address the gaps between producers, traders, and consumers that are posing a challenge to the sustainability and resilience of Bhutan’s food and farming systems. The interventions will focus on the commercialization and diversification of farm systems; strengthening of existing value chains and development of new ones; and financing enabling small-scale infrastructure (on-farm water and soil conservation, aggregation centers, cold storage, milk chilling centers, etc.). Additionally, the project will also support post-harvest processing and ensure products meet internationally recognized food standards; capacity building and support to youth, cooperatives, and other producer organizations for climate resilience agriculture practices, the establishment of youth enterprises for provision of organic inputs (biochar, soil stimulants, bio-fertilizer, and bio-pesticides); and facilitating business linkages between producers, buyers, financiers, and local public stakeholders through multi-stakeholder platforms and business interactions meetings (B2B) to meet local, national, regional and global consumer demand. 

The project aims to boost equitable employment and income-generating opportunities for smallholder women, men, and youths through capacity building and investment support to small-holder farmers on production, marketing, and better access to services for engaging in profitable value chains as vegetables, dairy, livestock, poultry, and high-value crops. In doing so, the project will seek to stimulate post-COVID-19 employment opportunities for women and youth, the adoption of climate-resilient and market-oriented nutritious food products, and facilitate inward investment for the production and marketing of high-quality and high-value home-grown Bhutanese agricultural products. Lessons from the FSAPP (the first °µÍøÁÔÆæ project) and good practices from CARLEP will be built into the proposed project for increasing impact.