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Hazelnut promise excites farmers

7 February 2010

 

 Come summer, and some of the barren, fallow and eroded land in the eastern dzong­khags will come under hazel­nut plantation, which has the potential to change the lives of the subsistence farmers. This was revealed by Daniel K Spitzer of Mountain Hazelnut Venture (MHV), a US-based company, during his visit to potential hazelnut growing areas in Pemagatshel this week.

The hazelnut project in­tends to plant about 10 mil­lion plants in the next five years, which could produce about 40,000 tonnes of pre­mium quality nuts annually for high-end markets in Eu­rope and the US. “This would account for about three per­cent of the world’s hazelnut production,” said Daniel.

The hazelnut project is a pioneering foreign invested agri-business venture in Bhu­tan. It promises to bring about better economic returns com­pared to other agri-business. But not all can take up the plantation. Hazelnut only thrives in colder climate that has at least one month of cold temperature between zero to five degrees.

According to Daniel, ha­zelnut plant remains produc­tive for over a century as in England but it will remain commercially productive for about 25 years even under harsh conditions. A hazelnut plant produces about four kg of nuts. One acre of plants produce about two tonnes of nuts. A farmer with an acre of hazelnut plants is expected to make about Nu 20,000 to Nu 25,000 annually.

“We are very impressed

 with what was told to us about this wonder nut which is said to grow even in poor soil conditions and on fal­low land. We are excited,” said Dorji, the mangmi of Woongchhilo village under Nanong Gewog.

“After Daniel talked about the plant to over 40 farm­ers in Yurung village, people wanted to begin plantation immediately,” said Tshering Lham, the gewog agriculture extension officer. She said that Yurung has immense potential for hazelnut planta­tion.

The Dzongkhag Agricul­ture Officer, Kiran Subedi, said the next immediate work to make hazelnut plantation happen is to identify poten­tial areas in the dzongkhag within the altitude range of 1,600 to 2,400 metres above sea level. He believes that Pemagatshel will have some areas under hazelnut planta­tion this season itself.

Hazelnut could be an an­swer to wild animal dep­redation of food crops like maize and potato. It could

 prove more lucrative than cash crops like mandarin and apple which require a lot of management. The hazelnut’s shelf-life is an added advan­tage.

“It is a win-win situation for all,” said DAO Kiran. “Our farmers will get saplings free, and they will not have to worry about the market. The plantation will enable opti­mum utilisation of barren and fallow land. This will reduce land degradation, especially due to surface run-off during monsoon.”

Hazelnut industry will also open up employment oppor­tunities for school leavers and perhaps check youth drifting to urban centres, which has become a major national is­sue.

Daniel, who is a Buddhist, has laid aside a spiritual and social dimension to his ha­zelnut business in Bhutan. He has decided to give back 25 percent of his profit to the local people for community-based projects. But first, he wants the project to take a concrete shape.

Exactly a year after an MOU was signed between the agriculture ministry and the MHV, the trials at three dif­ferent sites are said to be suc­cessful.

Hazelnut needs low input and minimum labour. An acre of plantation needs only about 25 days of labour in a year.

An acre of land will have about 500 plants depending on the gradient of the slope. Gentler gradient is always preferred for technical rea­sons. Hazelnut grows under rain-fed condition but irrigat­ing in the first year enables it to take root properly

BY Gyembo Namgyal

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