‘The Government of Bhutan would like to transform Bhutanese agriculture from subsistence to a commercial scale to increase the income of farmers and uplift the rural livelihoods of Bhutanese population with an appropriate marketing policy. With the support of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), the Ministry of Agriculture and Forest (MOAF) is preparing a Renewable Natural Resources (RNR) marketing policy to make the RNR sector more competitive and make rural economy vibrant’, His Excellency, Lyonpo Yeshey Dorji, Minister, MoAF, Bhutan said during the opening address of the high level consultation of the RNR marketing policy of Bhutan.

The meeting on the RNR policy was organised on 15 February 2016 in Thimphu jointly by MOAF and ICIMOD. Over 50 participants attended from the private sectors, non-government organisations, development banks, farmer groups, cooperatives, Bhutan Chamber of Commerce, industries and relevant government agencies.

Dr Eklabya Sharma, the Director of Programme Operations, ICIMOD said ‘private sectors are the main drivers across the marketing value chains of RNR sector’. Sharma added the policy will go a long way in improving market access, youth employment, and socio-economic development of rural communities.

Dr Golam Rasul, Theme Leader, Livelihoods at ICIMOD facilitated the consultation meeting and commended MoAF for engaging diverse stakeholders in preparing the policy which will enhance ownership and make implementation easy.

Choni Dhendup, the Director General of Department of Agricultural Marketing and Cooperatives (DAMC) said the policy document will be refined incorporating inputs from different stakeholders and will be submitted to the government for final approval. He appreciated the contribution of ICIMOD in drafting the policy and requested continued support from ICIMOD. The policy is expected to be approved by the government and put in place in the near future.

For more information, please contact:

Dr Tashi Dorji
Livelihoods Specialist Conservation and Development, ICIMOD
tashi.dorji@icimod.org
Tel. +977 1 5003222, Ext 306

Nira Gurung
Senior Communications Officer, ICIMOD
nira.gurung@icimod.org
Tel. +977 1 5003222, Ext 115

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