Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, Royal Government of Bhutan

18/07/2025

18/07/2025

𝐔𝐧𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐈 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞

18 July 2025: Following the two-day high-level workshop on “AI for Development” to explore the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI), the Department of Agriculture organized a session in the conference hall of the Ministry.

The objective of the technical session provided by Mr. Shaun Campbell, Imagery Intelligence Expert and Program Manager was to create awareness to leverage AI opportunities in agriculture through a use case demonstration of an agricultural landscape in Thimphu.

The participants included officials from the Department of Agriculture, Department of Livestock, Govtech Agency, National Biodiversity Centre, Policy and Planning Division, and remote participants from Agriculture Research and Development Centres and Central Programs.

18/07/2025

By October 2025, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, Royal Government of Bhutan will have officially identified and recorded the actual number of farmers who are actively engaged in farming practices across the country. This will be made possible through the 𝐅𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 (𝐅𝐑𝐒), a centralized digital platform designed to serve as the single source of farm-related information.

Developed by the Department of Agriculture, the 𝐅𝐑𝐒 captures real-time data on key aspects of agriculture, including landholdings, cropping systems, irrigation facilities, mechanization, and more. It provides a reliable and unified database to support planning, decision-making, and resource allocation in the sector.

Following the Training of Trainers conducted earlier this month, nationwide cascade training for Dzongkhag Agriculture Officers and Gewog Agriculture Extension Officers began this week. Once trained, the extension officers will start registering farmers and collecting agricultural data through the 𝐅𝐑𝐒 from July 25 to September 30 2025.

The 𝐅𝐑𝐒 is also integrated with national land and population databases, and will eventually be linked to Bhutan’s National Digital Identity (NDI) platform. This integration will strengthen the accuracy of data, support evidence-based planning, and enable timely responses to emerging challenges such as climate change and rural outmigration.

In addition, the system will help validate the functionality and coverage of key agricultural infrastructure, including irrigation and chain link fencing schemes, contributing to more effective monitoring and service delivery across the agriculture sector.

The enhancement of the 𝐅𝐑𝐒 including the Training of Trainers, cascade training, and nationwide rollout is supported by the 𝐄𝐔-𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐀𝐠𝐫𝐢-𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬 (𝐄𝐔-𝐓𝐀𝐀𝐒), implemented by 𝐅𝐀𝐎 𝐁𝐡𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐧.

17/07/2025

𝐎𝐮𝐭𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐲 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐀𝐯𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐳𝐚 (𝐇𝐏𝐀𝐈 𝐇𝟓𝐍𝟏), 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚𝐬 "𝐁𝐢𝐫𝐝 𝐅𝐥𝐮", 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐲𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐩𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐫𝐦 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐞, 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐠-𝐍𝐠𝐚𝐠-𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐆𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐠, 𝐒𝐚𝐦𝐭𝐬𝐞 𝐃𝐳𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐤𝐡𝐚𝐠.

17/07/2025

𝐏𝐢𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐅𝐚𝐫𝐦 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐭

18 July 2025: The Department of Livestock has completed the final preparations for the nationwide rollout of the Pig and Poultry Farm Registration System (FRS), with the official implementation scheduled to begin in August 2025. In a technical debriefing held on 16 July 2025, the FRS working team presented the full features of the digital platform and its phased rollout strategy to the Ministry, which was chaired by Dasho Secretary.

Developed through a collaborative process involving the Department, Dzongkhag Livestock Officers, Dzongkhag Livestock Production Officers, Ministry ICT Team, GovTech Bhutan, FAO Bhutan (funding partner) and IT firm (Dragon Coders Private Limited), the FRS is a comprehensive online system designed to register all pig and poultry farms across the country. It aims to streamline data collection, enhance traceability, strengthen biosecurity, and support evidence-based planning and investment in the livestock sector. By offering real-time access to farm data, the system will help align farm operations with Good Husbandry Practices (GHP) and animal welfare standards, ensuring both systematic production system and disease preparedness.

The implementation will follow a structured rollout plan:

𝐏𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐈 begins with professional training for livestock staff across 75 Gewogs in six pilot Dzongkhags (Samtse, Chhukha, Dagana, Sarpang, Tsirang, and Samdrup Jongkhar), chosen for their high concentration of pig and poultry farms.

𝐏𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐈𝐈 will see door-to-door farm registrations conducted by Gewog Livestock Supervisors. The formal launch of FRS is scheduled for September 2025.

𝐏𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐈𝐈𝐈 will focus on system monitoring, feedback collection, and necessary refinements.

𝐏𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐈𝐕 will involve professional training and registration rollout in the remaining 14 Dzongkhags to ensure full nationwide coverage.

By the end of December 2025, more than 85% of the pig and poultry farms across the country will be registered under the system.

16/07/2025

𝐁𝐡𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐎𝐂𝐎𝐏 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡-𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐕𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐧𝐚𝐦

The Hon’ble Minister for Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, Royal Government of Bhutan, HE Younten Phuntsho, joined leaders from Asia and Africa at the High-Level Interregional Knowledge Exchange on One Country One Priority Product (OCOP), held from 14 to 17 July in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Speaking at the Ministerial Roundtable, the Minister shared Bhutan’s inspiring journey with Quinoa (Ashi Heychum) as its OCOP crop. Supported by FAO, Bhutan has made remarkable progress from varietal development and production expansion across 14 districts to integrating quinoa into school meals and launching digital tools for farmer support.

“Our OCOP journey is rooted in Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness philosophy and supports all of FAO’s Four Betters—Better Production, Better Nutrition, Better Environment, and Better Life,” said the Minister.

Bhutan’s plans include expanding quinoa to 4 000 acres, while scaling up climate-smart tools, youth engagement, and South-South Cooperation.

The event, co-hosted by FAO and Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, brought together ministers, researchers, and experts to strengthen interregional collaboration for sustainable and resilient agrifood systems.

11/07/2025

Market Price collected from Kaja Throm (CFM)as of 11 July 2025

11/07/2025

VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT

10/07/2025

𝐁𝐡𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐋𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐍𝐢𝐧𝐞 (𝟗) 𝐁𝐢𝐨𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 (𝐀𝐁𝐒) 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤

Thimphu, July 10, 2025: The National Biodiversity Centre (NBC), Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, in partnership with the S.C. Branding and eight entrepreneurs (scale-ups/start-ups), launched nine premium bioprospecting-based products developed under the ABS framework at the Event Centre in the CSI Market. The event was graced by His Excellency Younten Phuntsho, Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, along with senior government officials, private sector representatives, community representatives, and development partners.

The launch showcased nine premium wellness and personal care products developed by eight Bhutanese entrepreneurs in close collaboration with local community groups. Each product is the result of extensive research, capacity building, market testing, mentoring and incubation support. They bear the ABS logo, symbolising ethical and sustainable sourcing, fairness, community empowerment, and benefit sharing. As demand for natural and ethically sourced wellness products grows worldwide, these new products position Bhutan to tap into high-value niche markets while staying true to its Gross National Happiness philosophy and strong conservation ethos. They are not only designed for domestic markets but are also being positioned for international markets, especially in Southeast Asia.

This launch is a testament to Bhutan’s innovative approach towards the conservation and enhancement of livelihood. It proves that our biological resources can power inclusive green enterprises that uplift communities and showcase Bhutanese values globally.

This is part of the project "Scaling Bioprospecting as a Nature-based Solution for Green Mountain Livelihoods", implemented by the National Biodiversity Centre (NBC), and supported by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. Moving forward and building on this success, NBC plans to support an additional cohort of around ten start-ups and scale-ups in the coming year, further strengthening Bhutan’s green enterprise ecosystem in partnership with like-minded and allied agencies.

Submitted by: National Biodiversity Centre

09/07/2025

𝐓𝐂𝐏 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧-𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭

9 July 2025: An appraisal meeting for the Community-Based Human-Wildlife Conflict Management Project, jointly implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MoAL), National Plant Protection Centre (NPPC), and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), was held on July 8, 2025. The event brought together key officials, including Dasho Secretary of MoAL, Director of the Department of Agriculture, the Chief Representative and officials from the JICA Bhutan Office, the Program Director and officials from NPPC, and the Project’s Chief Technical Advisor, Mr. Naoto Yamabata and the Project Coordinator.

This 3.5-year TCP project aims to develop a model for mitigating and managing human-wildlife conflict, focusing on major pests like wild boar, deer, and monkeys in four pilot sites of Punakha, Wangdue, Tsirang, and Dagana. The involvement of a Project Advisor with extensive expertise in addressing monkey-related conflicts in Japan is seen as a significant advantage to this project. While the mitigation strategies currently employed by MoAL have proven effective against most wild animals, challenges persist with monkeys, porcupines, and elephants. This TCP’s major focus will be on wild boar, deer, and particularly on monkeys.

The project is designed to serve as a model that can be further refined and expanded to other gewogs facing similar problems. Its implementation is expected not only to reduce field-level problems but also to help lower the costs associated with the government’s current mitigation measures. Among the key interventions planned for the pilot sites are the modification and piloting of portable electric fences for wild boar and deer, and the development of a universal hybrid fence, which is a combination of electric and chain/mesh wire fencing. This prototype will be designed to particularly address monkey problems in the fields.

During the meeting, the Dasho Secretary of MoAL expressed gratitude to JICA and the Government of Japan for their timely support, emphasizing the urgency of achieving results that can be scaled up nationwide. Given the government’s 13 FYP allocation of approximately Nu. 5 billion for chain-link fencing, successful project outcomes could help reduce this budget while maintaining or improving results and extending coverage to more areas.

The Chief Representative of JICA recognized the government’s position and confirmed their support for starting installations by the end of this year or early next year.

07/07/2025

7 July 2025: The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms. Kinga Wangmo as the Chief of the Finance Division.

Ms. Kinga Wangmo previously served as the Deputy Chief Finance Officer of the same division.

The Ministry extends its heartfelt congratulations and looks forward to her continued dedication and effective leadership in this new role.

06/07/2025

𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐑𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐇𝐑𝐃𝐈 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐀,𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐔 𝐨𝐧 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 & 𝐁𝐢𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲

6 July 2025: We are pleased to announce that a 13-member delegation from Thailand is currently visiting Bhutan from July 6 to 10, 2025, as part of the three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Technical Cooperation in Agriculture and Biodiversity, signed between the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MoAL), Bhutan, and the Royal Project Foundation, Thailand.

On July 6, the delegation had a courtesy meeting with the Hon’ble Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock. During this productive discussion,both parties reviewed ongoing initiatives and discuss future cooperation.The visit aims to facilitate knowledge transfer in agriculture, focusing on horticulture, pomology, floriculture, and landscaping.They will prepare the work plan for Technical Cooperation Phase III (2024–2029) and visit the new Floriculture and Coffee Project in Tsirang and Gelephu Mindfulness City.

In a gesture of technical support and collaboration, the delegation presented several planting materials to the Hon’ble Secretary of MoAL for propagation and multiplication at Royal Project sites. These materials include:
•⁠ ⁠Strawberry (2 varieties: Prarachantan 80 and Prarachantan 88)
•⁠ ⁠Orchids (Dendrobium and Cymbidium varieties)
•⁠ ⁠Chrysanthemum (3 varieties)
•⁠ ⁠Mango scion wood (Irwin variety)

This collaboration strengthens ties between Bhutan and Thailand, promoting sustainable agricultural development.