Agency: For decades, the biggest question haunting Bhutanese farmers was not about adequate rainfall or fertile soil, but about protecting their crops from the wildlife. Could they protect their crops from wild boars, deer, elephants, or monkeys long enough to harvest their grains and fruits? Entire acres of fertile land were abandoned simply because farmers felt their labour would be lost overnight.
That reality is now shifting. Across Bhutan, gewogs and chiwogs are seeing a new line of defence rise, chain-link fencing. From Mongar in the east to Sarpang in the south and Dagana in the west, steel fences are becoming the difference between barren land and thriving fields.
In Dagana’s Tashiding Chiwog, the change is already visible. A newly inaugurated 3.6-kilometre chain-link fence now protects 110 acres of wet and dry land, covering the fields of over 60 households. Built at a cost of more than Nu 6 million with support from the Government of India’s PTA funding, the government supplied the materials while farmers themselves provided the labour.
The results are encouraging. Farmers who once gave up on paddy cultivation are now expanding their fields. One of the beneficiaries said he lost much of his crops to wild boars in the past.
He said, “This year, with the fence, I harvested two tonnes of maize. I’ve also expanded my paddy cultivation from three acres to over four, including leased land. I expect to harvest a truckload of paddy this year.”
To strengthen protection, a solar-powered fence has been installed above the chain-link, releasing a mild current every 1.2 seconds, enough to deter monkeys without endangering humans or animals. The Bhutan Power Corporation has carried out awareness programs and set up warning signs along the highway where the fence runs.