Bhutan's Organic Mission: Origin and the Journey

From where did the statement originate?

Well, wondering how, when and why the much talked about statement of ''Bhutan's Mission of Going organic by 2020'' came into existence? 

The Former Prime Minister of Bhutan, Jigme Y. Thinley in 2012 during the Rio +20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development stated,

   "And as rural prosperity and urban well-being become a development theme, we are determined to become the first wholly organic food producing country by weaning our farmers and crops away from chemical dependency to ensure food security and sustainable agriculture. Bhutanese farmers have begun to plant the seeds of a new and sustainable society''.

PM’s remark at the closing session of the 2012 Conference of the International Society for Ecological Economics as follows:

"And we are working towards becoming the first country in the world to be 100% organic".

That is how the popular statement originated and became widely talked about by the outsiders as well as in  the country.

Why Bhutan is ideal for the shift from conventional to organic agriculture?

    vThe principles of Organic Agriculture aligns well with Bhutan’s developmental philosophy of GNH.

vStrong Policy support fostered by the Seed Rule, Pesticide Act of Bhutan, etc.

vStrong political support from the highest authority  (letter from the Cabinet instructing the ministry of Agriculture and Forest to pursue the organic movement)

vSimilarity to traditional farming system

vFarming in most of the far-flung villages, marked by small land holding, tugged along the mountainous topography are organic  by default.

vPristine environment.

vCompatibility with good local farming knowledge.

vStrong national organic program and the institutionalization of the organic center.

vIncreasing international support for the move.

vReligious sentiments over the use of agro-chemicals and destruction of other forms of life.

vInstruction from the PM/present government  that we should promote OA as a Flagship Programme under the 12th Five Year Plan

vRegulated import and supply of plant protection chemicals through a single national agency

Small land holding and natural farming in practice

All the aforementioned factors make it conducive and place Bhutan at a comparative advantage for the shift to OA. Though there are hardships and challenges to the approach, Bhutan is tagged with a lot of factors that ideally place it at the apex of opportunity for organic agriculture than a lot of other nations in the world.