Food Security and Agriculture Productivity (FSAPP)

About the Project

Bhutan is a small landlocked nation, with only 8% of arable land, only 3% of which is under cultivation, mostly by smallholder farmers. Large areas are exposed to monsoons, floods, droughts, landslides, and earthquakes. More than a third of Bhutan’s poor live in rural areas, and almost 70% of the rural population engages in subsistence farming.

In support of the government’s efforts to reduce rural poverty and high levels of malnutrition through climate-smart agriculture productivity enhancements for food and nutrition security and to increase farmers’ access to local and export markets, particularly for key high-value crops, FSAPP increases agricultural productivity and enhances market linkages in rural districts in southwest Bhutan. The project aims to enhance the productivity of food crops, such as rice, maize, potato, vegetables, pulses, and possibly quinoa, citrus, apples, potatoes, and high-value crops, including spices, especially large cardamom, and ginger. Key activities include strengthening producers’ groups; developing irrigation, including on-farm sprinkler and drip systems; providing improved agri-inputs and farm equipment; and supporting home-grown school feeding programs.