Abstract
A study was conducted to investigate the prospects of organic agriculture (OA) in Bhutan from the experts’ perspective, particularly the SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat) aspect. Thirty-five Bhutanese experts were interviewed. The strengths of OA were (i) good alignment of the principles of OA with Bhutan’s development philosophy, (ii) strong policy and political support, (iii) pristine environment, (iv) OA practices similar to traditional farming, and (v) compatibility of OA with the local farming knowledge. The major weaknesses were (i) a lack of awareness of the benefits of OA, (ii) lack of incentives, (iii) shortage of farm labor, (iv) small and irregular supply of organic product, (v) lack of clarity in policy, (vi) limited plant protection materials, and (vii) a lack of coordination between agencies. Opportunities were (i) a huge regional and global organic market, (ii) promoting healthy lifestyle, (iii) sustainable use of resources, (iv) lowering dependence on food and input imports, (v) development of local organic manure suppliers, (vi) creating seed sovereignty, (vii) conserving local crops, (viii) building soil fertility, (ix) introducing premium price for organic products, and (x) addressing unemployment. Threats included (i) increasing incidences of pests and diseases, (ii) decline in sources of organic manure, and (iii) limited sources of organic manures and fertilizers.
Highlights
Organic agriculture (OA) is a sustainable approach to food production as it includes all agricultural systems that promote the environmentally, socially, and economically sound production of food and fibers [1, 2]
Over 90% of participants agreed that the principles of OA align and blend well with the developmental policy objective and philosophy of Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness (GNH)
About same proportion of participants were in agreement with strength of OA being similar to traditional farming
Summary
Organic agriculture (OA) is a sustainable approach to food production as it includes all agricultural systems that promote the environmentally, socially, and economically sound production of food and fibers [1, 2]. Organic agriculture is socially acceptable, economically sound, and environmentally benign than conventional agriculture [3,4,5,6]. The rising number of organic consumers in turn has triggered further growth of organic agricultural land and the organic market [10, 11]. In tandem with the increase in land under OA, the global organic market rose to US $64 billion in 2012 from US $18 billion in 2000 [11]. The growing global OA movement, which is predicted to grow further [11] because of the continuing environmental ill effects and contentious poor food quality emanating from conventional farming, has lured the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan into its fold
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