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• RNRNewsletterA bimonthly publication of the Ministry of
Agriculture & Forests
Vol. VIII Issue No. VIII www.moaf.gov.bt 16-30 June 2020
INSIDE Yak migration and its
associated challenges: an experience from Haa continued..
Page 3
The Ministry's Week
Page 6
Yak migration and its associated challenges: an experience from
Haa
National Integrated Yak Breeding Centre, Haa
Migration of Yak to thier summer grazing grounds
Cont...on Pg 2
Haa Dzongkhag is located on the western border of the country
sharing boundary with the Chinese Autonomous region of Tibet to the
northwest, Samtse Dzongkhag in the southwest, Chukha Dzongkhag to
the southeast and Paro Dzongkhag to the northeast.
The yak (Bos grunniens) is the flagship species of livestock
for
the 10 northern dzongkhags of Bhutan, predominantly covered with
alpine meadows and located at an altitude ranging from 2800 to 5000
masl.
Of the six gewogs with more than 500 households only 57
households from three gewogs rear yaks. In total there are 4,915
yaks on an average in the area. The
Brokpas (yak herders) graze their yaks from Nubtshonapata to
China border during summer and in winter they would move to Wangdi
Nya & Chelela Paro to the west of Doklam plateau. It is
believed that Brokpas are custodian of northern borders of
Bhutan.
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16-30 June 20202 RNRNEWSLETTERA bimonthly publication of the
Ministry of Agriculture & ForestsCont...from Pg 1
Yak rearing system
Yak rearing in these 10 Dzongkhags are an age-old tradition that
has survived centuries and it is deeply integrated into their
social life. Yak farming system is not sedentary farming as the
system primarily depends on grazing in the open pastures for their
feed.
Therefore, the animals have to
migrate from lowlands to the highlands during summer season and
vice versa during winter in search of green pastures. This system
of rearing is called pastoralism or transhumance husbandry
system.
In Bhutan, transhumance migration of yaks follow both
latitudinal and altitudinal migratory routes depending on
Herders having thier farewell feast before commencing
migration
the climatic conditions and travel long distances covering wide
range of altitudinal variance (Letro, 2015).
The Haa Brokpas migrate their herds at the end of 3rd month to
beginning of the 4th month of the Lunar calendar to their summer
grazing areas in the summer. It takes around 4 to 6 days to reach
their summer grazing ground.
During winter, some herders start to move down at the end of the
8th month and others at the beginning of the 9th month of the lunar
calendar to the lower foothills when the climate is extremely cold
in the alpine grazing areas. Therefore, the herds remain
approximately six month each in their summer or winter grazing
camps.
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16-30 June 2020 3RNRNEWSLETTERA bimonthly publication of the
Ministry of Agriculture & ForestsCont...from Pg 2Migratory
routes as practiced by yak herders of Haa.There are four primary
migratory routes that the herders migrate their yaks;
i. In summer, a. one group of herders migrate towards Layna,
Nubri Paro Dzongkhag (4500 masl) passing
through Gapla, Gonglayla, Fanla, and Togola passes. Another
group migrate towards Shaktoe and Shakmey near China border
crossing Gongzala and Yaklayla passes (4500-5000 masl) and the
third group migrate towards Nubtshonapata (4000 masl)
ii. In winter,a. One group of herders migrate towards Doklam
plateau (2700-4000 masl)b. And rest migrate to Haa valley and some
to Paro Dzongkhag side (2800-4000 masl).
Decline in the yak rearing practices in recent timesJou Rinzey,
a 73 year old yak herder started herding yaks at the age of 13, way
back in 1960s along with his late father. His attachment towards
rangeland and yak herding has been his lifelong passion. Despite
his unfavorable age he has been persuading his wife and children
that he wanted to accompany his yaks this year (2020) to its summer
migration camp for one last time. This is a typical example and it
has been the trend prevailing in yak herders of the Haa that the
enthusiasm of the older generations don’t exist anymore with the
younger generation. Jou Lhab Tsheri from Dumchu village under Uesu
gewog recalls
his bygone days with yak herding and singing ‘Yak Labey Lhadha
Gow’ at the top of his voice while herding yaks, cherished as his
best memories. Those days the wealth of a household was measured by
the number of yaks one owned and recalls that he was among elite
herders. From more than 20 in his community then, now left with
only four herders.
Similar stories are shared by Aum Chimi from Ingo under Kartshog
gewog and Hatey under Bji gewog. Two decades ago, there were more
than 20 herders in her community but now left with only two
herders. She is struggling to maintain the age-old tradition that
are passed on her by her parents due to labour shortage. At Hatey
they are now left with
only seven households from the 30 households. According to
livestock statistics 2013 there are 99 herders now left with 57
(2020) this is the trend prevailing at Haa.
The trend of yak herding and migratory practices are declining
although it is a traditional practice that has been the main source
of income for centuries for the highlanders. This poses enormous
threat to yak rearing as farming system in the country if
appropriate measures are not taken to encourage sustainability of
this practice. The main reasons behind people leaving yak farming
are due to i) modern education whereby, children choose paid jobs
over yak farming leading to labour shortage, ii) emergence of
predation by wild animals
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16-30 June 20204 RNRNEWSLETTERA bimonthly publication of the
Ministry of Agriculture & Forests
including feral dogs leading to loss of yaks, iii) mortality due
to diseases such as Gid disease. iv) change of Tsamdro rights. Such
a trend makes herders like Jou Lhab Tsheri worried that the age-old
tradition will slowly disappear as their children will not come
back to the mountains again to take over the practices.
What interventions are being instituted by the Government to
encourage the yak rearing practices?The record at the Department of
Livestock maintained since 1987 states that the population of yak
in the country remained consistent, which is about 42,000. The
following are some of the key measures being taken;
i) Formation of yak federation in the country to preserve,
promote and protect yaks in the highlands. ii) Intervention on yak
products diversification to make yak farming business more
attractive
amongst the youth.iii) Initiated gid disease surveillance and
elimination program iv) Established yak nucleus breeding farm at
Chonaphu, Haa with a mandate to coordinate and
promote yak development in the country through innovation,
technology popularization (for instance Artificial insemination
(AI) to address in-breeding issue) and provision of extension and
technical services through the support of BTFEC (Bhutan Trust Fund
and Environmental Conservation).
v) Initiated value chain and livelihood improvement of herders
and capacity building through The Kanchenjunga Landscape (KL) and
Resilient Mountain Solutions (RMS) through the support of ICIMOD
(International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development)
vi) Established Regional Cooperation for sharing knowledge,
technology and germplasm exchange among the mountain people through
the initiative of ICIMOD (International Centre for Integrated
Mountain Development)
Cont...from Pg 2
Picture courtesy: Choidup Zangpo, ICTD
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16-30 June 2020 5RNRNEWSLETTERA bimonthly publication of the
Ministry of Agriculture & Forests
Please submit your articles for RNR-Newsletter at
[email protected]
Cabbage white butterflyDamage Symptoms: The orange coloured eggs
are laid in groups on the under side of the host plant leaves. The
caterpillars of this insect feed in groups on the under side of the
leaves. The aggregation feeding habit of these caterpillars can
completely defoliate an individual plant leaving only the tough
midrib and the veins in leaves.
Control Measures: The following measures are recommended for the
control of this pest:
Grow cabbage as an early crop, as early-grown cabbage is seldom
severely injured because it reaches maturity before the imported
cabbageworm populations have built up significantly.
The adult butterfly is very conspicuous and can be easily seen
in the field while laying their eggs. These eggs are easily visible
and should be hand picked and destroyed. Care should be taken not
to pick the eggs of ladybirds, which are also orange colored and of
the same size. Closer examination of the eggs will reveal the
ladybird eggs to be smooth, whereas the eggs of cabbage white
butterfly are with longitudinal ridges.
Since the larvae feed in groups they can be easily located and
destroyed.
In case of serious problems, contact insecticides like
Cypermethrin @1ml in 1 litre of water and Malathion at the rate of
2 ml in 1 litre of water can be sprayed. -NPPC
JOKESThese two guys out hunting find a hole in the woods
that's about three feet across, but it's so deep that when
they drop a rock, they hear no sound. So they drop a
bigger rock, but they still hear nothing.
So they go looking for something larger, and they find
a railroad tie, haul it over to the hole, and heave it in.
It
also disappears without a sound.
Suddenly a goat comes running up at about sixty miles
an hour and dives headfirst into the hole. And there's
still no sound. Nothing.
Suddenly a farmer appears from the woods and says,
"HEY! You fellas seen my goat around here?"
And they say, "Well, there was a goat just ran by here
real fast and dove into this hole here."
"Naw," says the farmer, "that couldn't be my goat. My
goat was tied up to a railroad tie."
Fruit farming began sometime between 6000 and 3000 B.C. Figs
were one of the first cultivated fruit crops.
D i d y o u k n o w ?
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16-30 June 20206 RNRNEWSLETTERA bimonthly publication of the
Ministry of Agriculture & Forests
Up scaling of Payment for Environmental Service Scheme in
Tsirang Dzongkhag
Published by:Information and Communication Technology Division
(ICTD)Ministry of Agriculture and Forests Post Box: 1095,
Thimphu-BhutanTel. (PABX): 02-323765/321142Fax: 02-324520Email:
[email protected]: www.moaf.gov.bt
Bhutan unveils Innovative Commodity Market Information
System
Farmers in Phuntshopelri shows keen interest in watermelon
farming
The Ministry's week
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forest (MoAF) along with the
European Union (EU) and the International Trade Centre (ITC) today
unveiled a new online platform, Agricultural Market Information
System (AMIS), for Bhutanese agricultural producers. This online
platform, developed with the financial support of the EU and
technical expertise of ITC, will enhance the information
flow related to the country’s agriculture products.
AMIS was officially launched today by His Excellency the
Honourable Minister of Agriculture and Forests, Mr. Yeshey Penjor,
together with His Excellency the Honourable Ambassador of the
European Union to India and Bhutan, Mr. Ugo Astuto, through a
virtual platform.
In Bhutan, a number of Payment for Environmental Service (PES)
scheme types, currently functioning have the potential to be scaled
up in other parts of the country taking into account, lessons and
experiences generated today in the country. A comprehensive of
these mechanisms will be valuable for scaling up, and could
also
Watermelon will soon be an important cash crop for farmers in
Phuntshopelri gewog, Samtse. A ‘Sugar Baby’ variety of water melon
was introduced in the gewog in December 2019 to provide an
alternative source of income and encourage farmers and youth
groups. Locally raised seedlings were planted in the field of a
farmer, Mon Bdr. Mongar at
Chhunag covering 0.4 acres of land.
Awareness training was also provided to all 21 Chhunag
households covering the water melon cultivating technology such as
nursery raising, construction of low cost polytunnel, planting,
mulching, irrigation and pest and disease management practices.
be offered as models that could potentially, be replicated in
the districts. This would contribute to responding to challenges,
with synergizing rapid socio-economic development, with the
Governments conservation efforts to uphold the constitutional
mandate, of maintaining 60 percent of land under forests cover
forever.
