mushroom of bhutan.pdf

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RNRNEWSLETTER A monthly publication of the Ministry of Agriculture & Forests

Vol. I Issue No. 2 www.moaf.gov.bt August 2013

Mushroom in Bhutan

Be it cultivated or wild, the collection

of these non-wood forest products has

been an integral part of livelihood for

the Bhutanese population. Mushrooms,

medicinal and aromatic plants are an

important source of income for the

farmers of Bhutan. It has been identied

as an important commodity that

contributes to the income generation,

food security and biodiversity

conservation in the country.

Under Bhutanese context mushroom

production (both cultivation and wild

collection) and marketing has become one

very important activity, generating both

income and employment mainly at the

NMC

Chanterelle mushroom

community level, as the market demand

for mushrooms are growing exponentially

on a yearly basis. However, in order to

keep in pace with the growing demand

for quality spawn and technical services,

there is need for the development of

infrastructure and human capacity at the

program level. Promotion of cultivation

and production of mushroom has a

comparative advantage over other crops

under the context of limited land holdings

of pro-poor population in the country.

Collection of wild edible mushroom

during the season has been a common

activity and it is gaining popularity

across the country, expanding altitude

range of 300 to over 3000masl. From

time immemorial wild edible mushrooms

have been collected and consumed. In

"Promotion of

cultivation and production

of mushroom has a comparative

advantage over other crops under

the context of limited land holdings

of pro-poor population in the

country"

The factors which inuence the

marketing of our products are the

price of the commodity, the quantity

and quality of mushroom that can be

supplied from Bhutan

Pg. 2

Matsutake or Sangay Shamu

grows at an altitude of over 3000

meters making Ura in Bumthang

one of its home in the kingdom

Pg. 4 I N S I D E

Cont. on page 2


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August 20132 NEWSLETTERRNR

certain communities in high altitude

areas (Geney, Ura, Laya as examples)

the contribution from mushroom onthe annual income varies from 50% to

70% thereby contributing to poverty

alleviation and mitigating rural urban

migration. But at the same time, wild

mushroom poisonings also occurvery often in the country. Collectors,

especially the new and young ones

could pick poisonous mushrooms which

look like the edible ones by mistake.

Often young children collect mushroom.The mushrooms collected are either

being consumed at home or sold in the

market or at the roadside. Some of the

very popular wild edible mushrooms

include: Matsutake mushroom,

Chanterelle, Shimeji spp., Rozites,

Shiitake spp., Oyster spp., Auricularia

spp., Trimella spp. and Ramaria spp.

Mushroom absorbs many or any

substance from the substrate. If the

area where the mushroom grows has

been sprayed with pesticide or otherchemicals even edible mushrooms can

become poisonous. Industrial dumping

areas are another danger zone. Even

cultivated mushrooms can be dangerous

if they are grown on contaminated

substrate. Heavy metal contaminations

are quite possible in mushroom.

At present, the demand for mushroom

is much higher than the production,

especially for shiitake mushroom

which is sold at a high price. Matsutake

mushroom is presently exported to

Japan, Korea, and in some South Asiancountries but the demand has not been

steady in the past years. The factors

which inuence the marketing of our

products are the price of the commodity,

the quantity and quality of mushroom

that can be supplied from Bhutan.

Cont. from page 1 : Mushroom in Bhutan

Top Right: Farmers selling mushroom

Top Left: Oyster Mushroom

Bottom: Mushroom on sale


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August 2013 3NEWSLETTERRNR

Call for submission of articles for

annual RNR-Magazine

This is to inform that ICS is in the process of bringing out the 4th issue of

the RNR-Magazine (Sanam Drupdrey)

which will be published in January 2014.

Therefore, all are kindly requested to

send your articles on success stories,

breakthroughs, cultivation tips or any

write-up related to the RNR Sector to

[email protected] on or before 21 October

2013.

Please note the following points:

• Report/article should not consist of

more than four pages

• Relevant picture should be attached

separately (JPEG format) with a

maximum resolution as possible

• Proper credit for writer/contributor

with designation and ofce should

be mentioned

For any query, please contact Ms.

Tshering Doma, ICS at 323765/321142.

ICS


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Cheering for Matsutake ICS

In an initiative to alleviate poverty and

increase rural income and also promoteeco-tourism, cultural tourism and

community based tourism, hundreds of

locals from Bumthang and also from

around the country gather at Ura to take

part in the annual Matsutake festival.

The annual Matsutake festival is also an

attempt to showcase the native

mushrooms and other local products and

their link to the livelihoods of the local

community.

Various stalls set by local community

members serves as a variety of foods and

drinks, besides other local handicraft

products for sale to guests and visitors.

Dishes unique to Bumthang like putta

(buckwheat noodles) and khuley (pan-

fried bread) are on sale from different

stalls. But of all, as the festival was

dedicated to Matsutake, almost every

dish served has Matsutake as an

ingredient.

First initiated in 2008 by Thrumshingla

National Park, in close collaboration

with the Ura Mushroom Conservation

and Tourism Association (UMCTA) is

celebrated every year. However, the

festival could not be organised in 2009

and 2010 due to some logistic and

budgetary constraints.

The 2013 Matsutake festival was held

in August, The Chief Guest, Director

General of the Department of Forests

and Park Services in his address said that

Ura has an abundance and high diversityof mushrooms including many edible

and high valued ones which could be

Cont. on page 5

Top: Matsutake in the wild

Bottom Right: Tourist at the sale stallBottom: Matsutake on display and Farmers group sale counter


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August 2013 5NEWSLETTERRNR

Cont. from page 4 : Cheering for Matsutake

conserved through sustainable harvesting

for the benet of future generations. He

added that Thrumshingla National Park

has an immense potential for tourism

given its location amidst the historical

routes and alpine landscapes, abundant

with rich oral and faunal diversity. He

also highlighted that the lateral highway

passing right though the area is an

advantage for accessibility; yet, the

overall tourism potential has not been

tapped well.

Matsutake or Sangay Shamu grows at

an altitude of over 3000 meters making

Ura in Bumthang one of its home in the

kingdom. Uraps need to walk for few

hours to the forest to collect Sangay

Shamu. It grows in clusters at the base of

pine trees. It is collected once in a year.

The harvesting season is in the month of

July till mid of September. There are

about 100 species of mushroom identied

in Ura of which 50 species are edible.While collectors have been trained on

sustainable harvesting methods,

untrained collectors from other areas

harvest the ones which have been left

behind by the trained pickers to grow.

Despite limited staff at the

Thrumshingla National Park, vigilance

is on the increase to ensure sustainable

harvesting.

Top: Mushroom on display

Middle: Matsutake

Bottom: Matsutake being roasted


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Facts about

Cooperatives in Bhutan

L e i s u r e

Sudoku Puzzle

Fill in the grid with digits in such a manner that every row,

every column and every 3x3 box accommodates the digits 1-9,

without repeating any.

1 In which year was the rst Cooperative Act of Bhutan

enacted?

Ans:The rst Cooperative Act of Bhutan was enacted in 2001

as the “Cooperative Act of Bhutan 2001” (CAB, 2001)

2 When was the Cooperative Act of Bhutan , 2001 (CAB

2001) amended?

Ans:The CAB, 2001 was amended in 2009 as the “Cooperative

(amendment) Act of Bhutan 2009”.

3 When was the cooperative movement in Bhutan ofcially

launched?

Ans:The cooperative movement in Bhutan was ofcially

launched in Oct, 2010

4 Who is the Cooperative registrar of Bhutan?

Ans:Mr. Dorji Dhradhul, Director of DAMC is the Cooperative

Registrar of Bhutan.

5 Who is the Cooperative Registrar at Gewog level?

Ans:The Gewog Administrative Ofcer is also the Gewog

Cooperative Registrar

6 Who is the Cooperative Registrar at the Dzongkhag Level?

Ans:The Dzongkhag Planing Ofcer is also the Dzongkhag

Cooperative Registrar

7 What is the minimum member required to form

Cooperative?

Ans:The formation of cooperative requires a minimum 15

members from different household.

8 What is the minimum member required to form farmers

group?

Ans:The formation of farmers group requires a minimum of

three members from different household.

9 Which Ministry is mandated to implement the Cooperative

(amendment) Act of Bhutan, 2009 (CAB, 2009)?

Ans:The Ministry of Agriculture and Forests.

10 When is the International Day of Cooperative celebrated?

Ans:The First Saturday of July each year is celebrated as the

International Day of Cooperatives.

This is to inform all our esteemed stakeholders that at the

“Apple Export Co-ordination Meeting” organized by the

Bhutan Exporters Association (BEA) on the 22nd of July

2013 at Peling Hotel in Phuentsholing wherein the

Department of Agriculture Marketing & Cooperatives

(DAMC) participated; one of the major issue raised was on

the sale of early apples in the Indian borders which is

reported to be negatively affecting the price of apples both

at the early stage as well as at the time of export.

Therefore, in the interest of all the apple orchard owners/

sellers and exporters DAMC would like to most humbly

request that the respective District Agriculture Ofcers

(DoA), Apple Orchard owners, apple sellers to kindly

inform/educate and create awareness amongst relevant

stakeholders to refrain from such unhealthy practices of

early harvesting and selling.

DAMC would like to inform that such practice does notcontribute to fetching premium price in the market; the

main reason being that the fruits would not have reached

their full maturity at that stage and is therefore not able to

demand a good price. The early sale of apple sets a lower

price of the commodity which consequently results in the

export of apples not fetching premium prices at the time of

export. Thus, the early harvesting and selling neither

fetches good price for the early products nor helps in

fetching premium price for the later products.

For the information of all, the early apple harvested are

sold in the Indian border towns and the later apples

exported are to Bangladesh.(For Royal & Red apple variety the appropriate time of

harvest is only after mid-August)

Submitted by: DAMC,MoAF

AGRICULTURAL MARKETING

ADVISORY


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MAGIP NEWSLETTER http://asia.ifad.org/web/magip August 2013

A monthly publication of the Market Access & Growth Intensification Project

Support benefts Orange Marketing GroupSangay Jamtsho and Bhim Raj Gurung, RAMCO

Pemagatshel: Orange cultivation in

Dungmin geog under Pemagatshel

Dzongkhag was practiced since time

immemorial. The geog which is ofcially

two days walk from road point is

considered as one of the remotest geogs

where farmers own a substantial land for

orange cultivation with good records of

orange production. On an average, farmershave 40-50 orange trees per household.

Considering its potential to produce

oranges for income generation, a group of

52 farmers/households was formed in

2009, mainly to generate income from

marketing of surplus oranges and to

provide job opportunities to school drop

outs. The technical assistance for the

group formation was provided by the

Netherlands Development Organization

(SNV), Agriculture Marketing and

Enterprise Promotion Program (AMEPP)and geog/Dzongkhag administration. The

group has been registered as formal

farmers group under the Cooperatives Act

(amendment) of Bhutan 2009 in 2012.

For proper functioning, the members

underwent the group formation and

management training such as orchard

layout and soil management from

Dzongkhag and RNR-RDC Wengkhar

among others.

During the season, one of the main

problems, the group used to face was the

high transportation cost. The oranges had

to carry on horseback for two days till the

nearest road point and were then loaded

into trucks taking another day to reachauction yard at Samdrup Jongkhar. The

group was able to sell only around 30% of

their produce due to high transportation

cost. To optimise the sale of oranges, the

Regional Agricultural Marketing and

Cooperative Ofce (RAMCO) discussed

with the Dzongkhag Agriculture Sector

and SNV to provide Nu. 50,000 as initial

fund support to transport oranges to the

market which was approved also.

With such support, the geog orange

production has been increasing steadilyover the past few years despite few

members withdrawing from the group

membership. In 2012, the group has sold

about 42 MT of oranges at auction yard

and earned income of Nu. 8,97,750\-(Eight

Hundred Ninety Seven Thousand Seven

Hundred Fifty).

Today after reforming the group in

2012, there are 22 active members with

Nu. 1, 70, 000\- as group savings to beused as a transportation budget in the

coming season and also during emergency.

Further, the group has been greatly

beneted by the Pemagatshel-Nganglam

highway which passes through Dungmin

geog. The cost of transportation though

high at present has beneted farmers to

take larger volume of oranges at a shorter

time. The farmers can now reach their

orange within a day to auction yard.

The success of Dungmin Orange

Marketing Group can further be replicated

to Vegetable Value Chain Programme East

(VVCP-E) implemented in the 6 eastern

Dzongkhags under Market Access and

Growth Intensication Project (MAGIP).

The farmers groups under the VVCP-E

also had similar problem in marketing

their vegetables. As the group was new

with no initial capital, it was difcult for

them to take their vegetables on time.

Similar fund support will be required by

the vegetable groups to make the

programme sustainable in future. Such

support is expected to improve the rightmarketing of vegetables enhancing income

while also making the VVCP-E

sustainable and improving the farmers’

living standard.Auction yard at Samdrupjongkhar


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ToIf undelivered please return to:

Information and Communication Services (ICS)

Ministry of Agriculture and Forests

Post Box: 1095, Thimphu-Bhutan

Tel(PABX): 02-323765/321142/322855

Fax: 02-324520

Email: [email protected]: www.moaf.gov.bt

Schools and farmers join hands together to

supply vegetables Binay Lama, SNV

With the objective of buying vegetables

locally from farmers close to schools on

a weekly basis and to scale up this

model nationally in all the schools, if

found feasible, a Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU) was signed on

19th April 2012 between the Ministry of

Education and the Ministry of

Agriculture and Forests to pilot

Gyelpoishing Higher Secondary School

(HSS) and Jakar HSS under Mongar

and Bumthang Dzongkhagsrespectively.

As per MoU, the supply of vegetable

shall be coordinated by the Mess

In-charge from the buyer’s side, who

will, rstly nd out the types of

vegetables available from the seller and

then place order one week in advance to

the focal persons of the groups. Based

on the demand, the focal persons shall

coordinate among their group and

supply not more or less than the

demanded quantity. The MoU also

states that products should not be pest

infested, brous or rotten and the buyer

reserves the right to reject vegetables if

failed to meet the quality requirement.

Te seller shall grow different types of

vegetables to provide buyers options to

demand different types of vegetables.

Seller shall ensure that only locally

grown vegetables are supplied except in

the months of February and March

during which they are allowed to import

vegetables from India. The buyer shall

buy vegetables only from the agreed list

of farmers coordinated by the focal

persons.

Drawing contractual agreements on

supply of vegetables has mutual benet

to both farmers and schools as schools

get fresh vegetables and farmers can

save on transport and transaction cost

compared to other markets. In fact the

limited requirement of vegetables by the

schools matches the lower productioncapacity of our farmers at the moment.

The process of drawing up the

contractual agreement was facilitated by

the Regional Agricultural Marketing

Cooperatives (RAMCO), SNV and

respective Geog Administrations under

the MAGIP framework.

As of now, 25 institutes

in the east are connected

with farmers groups. They

are consuming a total of

57,539 kgs per month or

575,390 kgs per academic

year which translates to

Nu.9,496,158 per annum.

This amount can be seen in

2 different ways: income to

our farmers or rupee saving

through vegetable import

substitution as most

schools imported

vegetables from India in

the past through suppliers.Contractual Agreement signing in the presence of

Kanglung Gup

The RAMCO is planning to connect all

boarding schools and other institutes in

the east with farmers group by end of

2013.

The process of linking farmers groups

to the local institutes for supplying

agricultural products in the east had

started in the late 1990s. However, due

to lack of an enabling environment such

as the Co-operative Act, it could not

progress. Although the Cooperatives Act

was passed in 2001, farmers’ groupregistration was not covered by the Act.

With the amendment of the

Cooperatives Act in 2009 and framing

of the Cooperative Rules and

Regulations in 2010 (CRR 2010), an

enabling environment for farmers’

group registration was successful.

mushroom of bhutan.pdf

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