Organic vs. conventional rice production: comparative assessment under farmers’ condition in Bhutan

Tashi, Sonam; Wangchuk, Kesang

doi:10.1007/s13165-015-0132-4

Cited by 24 publications

(13 citation statements)

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“…We therefore assume that under Bhutanese conditions similar context dependent results are to be expected. The only study assessing organic and conventional yields in Bhutan analysed rice grain yield data from 120 farms evenly sampled across all three AEZs in 2012 and 2013 [ 28 ]. Using ANOVA models the authors could not find any statistically significant differences between organic and conventional yields.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…OA is generally known to be more labour intensive than CA, but this factor receives little attention in the literature. The labour intensity of organic rice production in Bhutan, for instance, is 11% higher for organic farmers due to higher labour requirement for weeding and applying farmyard manure [ 28 ]. Using the novel approach to model field operations, we explicitly depict the technological trade-off between both systems and show that aggregate labour absorbed by crop activities increases by 2.3%.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There has been hardly any research assessing the Bhutanese consumers’ willingness to pay a price premium for OA produce. For the case of organic rice, no significant price premium was found to be paid by Bhutanese consumers [ 28 ]. Due to the lack of a domestic market for officially-certified organic products, this finding can be generalized for all crops that are produced under OA.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Is Bhutan destined for 100% organic? Assessing the economy-wide effects of a large-scale conversion policy

et al. 2018

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Organic agriculture (OA) is considered a strategy to make agriculture more sustainable. Bhutan has embraced the ambitious goal of becoming the world’s first 100% organic nation. By analysing recent on-farm data in Bhutan, we found organic crop yields on average to be 24% lower than conventional yields. Based on these yield gaps, we assess the effects of the 100% organic conversion policy by employing an economy-wide computable general equilibrium (CGE) model with detailed representation of Bhutan’s agricultural sector incorporating agroecological zones, crop nutrients, and field operations. Despite a low dependency on agrochemicals from the onset of this initiative, we find a considerable reduction in Bhutan’s GDP, substantial welfare losses, particularly for non-agricultural households, and adverse impacts on food security. The yield gap is the main driver for a strong decline in domestic agricultural production, which is largely compensated by increased food imports, resulting in a weakening of the country’s cereal self-sufficiency. Current organic by default farming practices in Bhutan are still underdeveloped and do not apply the systems approach of organic farming as defined in the IFOAM organic farming standards. This is reflected in the strong decline of nitrogen (N) availability to crops in our simulation and bears potential for increased yields in OA. Improvement of soil-fertility practices, e.g., the adoption of N-fixing crops, improved animal husbandry systems with increased provision of animal manure and access to markets with price premium for organic products could help to lower the economic cost of the large-scale conversion.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Is Bhutan destined for 100% organic? Assessing the economy-wide effects of a large-scale conversion policy

et al. 2018

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“…Owing to availability of irrigation infrastructures and water, wheat is generally irrigated. It is also the custom of the farmers to apply farm yard manure of 1.6–1.9 Mg ha −1 (Tashi and Wangchuk, 2016), and a top dressing of urea (40–80 kg ha −1 ) to increase wheat yield and maintain soil health. Nitrogen application of 38 kg ha −1 to wheat was reported in two major wheat growing districts in central Bhutan (Chhetri et al ., 2003).…”

Section: Wheat Growing Environmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges and Prospects of Wheat Production in Bhutan: A Review

Tshewang¹,

Park²,

Chauhan

et al. 2017

Ex. Agric.

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SUMMARYBhutan is a small country in the Himalayan mountains where subsistence agriculture is practiced due to small land holdings and undulating mountainous terrains. Due to diverse altitudinal and agro-ecological environments, many food crops are cultivated. Wheat is currently a secondary cereal, grown over an area of 1,964 ha with a total production of 3,465 Mg. While there are enormous opportunities to increase wheat production in Bhutan, it is challenged by numerous biotic and socio-economic factors such as labour shortage and low economic return. Among the biotic constraints, stripe rust and leaf rust are the most important diseases. Stem rust has not yet been reported. Poor crop nutrition, both through low soil fertility and inadequate external supply, also results in low productivity. In addition, better remunerative crops and affordable-imported products discourage wheat production. However, the availability and accessibility to higher yielding disease-resistant varieties, fertilization (both organic and inorganic), appropriate seed rate, optimum planting time, mechanization, rotation with legumes and expansion of wheat area are some measures that will play a crucial role in managing sustainable wheat production in Bhutan. In this paper, we provide a brief overview of the current scenario of wheat production, discuss the constraints and provide strategic guidance to improve wheat production in Bhutan.

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“…OA provides better opportunity to address unemployment for Bhutanese youth. Tashi and Wangchuk [37] reported that organic rice production demands more manual labor, which suggests that this type of production can generate more employment for rural youth.…”

Section: Opportunitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prospects of Organic Farming in Bhutan: A SWOT Analysis

Tashi

Wangchuk

2016

Advances in Agriculture

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A study was conducted to investigate the prospects of organic agriculture (OA) in Bhutan from the experts' perspective, particularly the SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat) aspect. Thirty-five Bhutanese experts were interviewed. The strengths of OA were (i) good alignment of the principles of OA with Bhutan's development philosophy, (ii) strong policy and political support, (iii) pristine environment, (iv) OA practices similar to traditional farming, and (v) compatibility of OA with the local farming knowledge. The major weaknesses were (i) a lack of awareness of the benefits of OA, (ii) lack of incentives, (iii) shortage of farm labor, (iv) small and irregular supply of organic product, (v) lack of clarity in policy, (vi) limited plant protection materials, and (vii) a lack of coordination between agencies. Opportunities were (i) a huge regional and global organic market, (ii) promoting healthy lifestyle, (iii) sustainable use of resources, (iv) lowering dependence on food and input imports, (v) development of local organic manure suppliers, (vi) creating seed sovereignty, (vii) conserving local crops, (viii) building soil fertility, (ix) introducing premium price for organic products, and (x) addressing unemployment. Threats included (i) increasing incidences of pests and diseases, (ii) decline in sources of organic manure, and (iii) limited sources of organic manures and fertilizers.

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Organic vs. conventional rice production: comparative assessment under farmers’ condition in Bhutan

Cited by 24 publications

References 24 publications

Is Bhutan destined for 100% organic? Assessing the economy-wide effects of a large-scale conversion policy

Is Bhutan destined for 100% organic? Assessing the economy-wide effects of a large-scale conversion policy

Challenges and Prospects of Wheat Production in Bhutan: A Review

Prospects of Organic Farming in Bhutan: A SWOT Analysis

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