In Bhutan, the pursuit of happiness extends to the food system

Bhutan is a Himalayan kingdom sandwiched between China and India. Forty percent of its 800,000 citizens work in the agriculture sector. The mountainous country is famous for its breathtaking landscapes and its unique policy of "Gross National Happiness," instituted in 1972 by Jigme Singye Wangchuck, the fourth king of Bhutan.

My guests on the Newscast this week say this philosophy is the backbone of the nation's food system, and its plan for full food self-sufficiency by 2029.

"Our food system isn't just about producing food. It's about sustaining our landscapes, our communities, and our culture," says renowned chef and restaurateur Bleu Tshering Dorji. She owns two restaurants in the nation's capital, Thimpu. She explains the unique challenges farmers she works with face due to climate change and steep mountain terrain.

"We are a mountainous landlocked country, and only a small percentage of our land is, I think, actually suitable for agriculture. We don't have the luxury of just expanding farmland. We have to make better use of the land that we sort of already have," she says.

"Labor is becoming extremely scarce as young people sort of move away from agriculture, and farmers still have to deal with issues like wildlife conflict, unpredictable weather, and also getting their produce to the market," Bleu says.

Sonam Wangchuk is an executive specialist at the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock for the government of Bhutan. He also joins the conversation to explain how the government plans to address these challenges through the 13th five-year plan, "Transforming the Agrifood Sector for Economic Growth and Sustainable Development." The plan calls for spending the equivalent of about $180 million through 2029. Much of these funds appear to be directly supporting smallholder farmers, the majority of whom in Bhutan are women.

"We have been working to strengthen the capacity of the smallholder farmers, especially through training on climate-smart agriculture, improve production technologies, farm mechanization, post-harvest management, value addition and agribusiness and business development for women and youth," Wangchuk says.

"The skills are imparted to improve access to finance, technology and markets and creating an environment of entrepreneurship and to support the farmer groups and cooperatives."

Some government measures have received criticism, such as the implementation of a 3,400-kilometer (2,100-mile) fence to deter human-wildlife conflict.

A previous study from 2023 on agricultural practices in the nation suggested that, "Bhutan should emphasise women-centred initiatives by enhancing access to assets, raising awareness of climate change mitigation strategies, and developing training programs to promote CSA," or climate-smart agriculture.

This appears to be what the plan aims to do. However, not all challenges are easily solved with funding. Previous Mongabay fellow Choki Wangmo highlighted some of these challenges through the story of Pen Zam, a medicinal mushroom gatherer who struggles with a shrinking habitat at extremely high altitudes to attain a fraction of what her family used to gather decades ago, before the current climate impacts of today.

Later this month, the inaugural Global Conscious Food Systems Summit will take place in Bhutan.

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Mike DiGirolamo is the host & producer for the Mongabay Newscast based in Sydney. Find him on LinkedIn and Bluesky.

Cover Image: A chorten, or Buddhist stupa, at a rice field in Bhutan. Image by thaths via Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0).

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Time codes

(00:00) Bhutan is transforming its food system

(06:45) A challenge ahead

(12:53) How 'Gross National Happiness' guides the way

(19:04) Supporting farmers amidst climate change

(29:36) Moving the global conversation forward