|
Bhutan Agriculture
Bhutan was traditionally self-sufficient in food
production.
Most of Bhutan's citizens and a significant amount of its
GDP were
devoted to the agricultural sector in the late 1980s.
About 87
percent of the population was involved in agriculture, and
a
projected 30.5 percent of GDP was expected to be produced
through
farming, animal husbandry, and fishing in 1991. Most
agriculture
was carried out with traditional methods and at the
subsistence
level. Faced with constraints of a shortage of cultivable
and
pasture land, lack of technical knowledge, logistical
difficulties,
and a shortage of skilled labor and managerial expertise,
agricultural development was difficult. Grain production
had not
met demand, and imports were rising in the late 1980s.
Shortages of
feed contributed to low livestock productivity. Cash
crops, such as
oranges, apples, and cardamom, were significant, but they
produced
too little income to influence the overall economy.
Government
interest in agriculture was ensured during the First
Development
Plan (1961-66), with the establishment of agriculture and
animal
husbandry departments to oversee model farms, research,
and crop
and herd improvement, a trend which continued through
subsequent
development plans.
Data as of September 1991
|
