Farmers save time and money with new auctioning system
Potato trading goes online in Bhutan
September 4, 2024
![a group of people in a room](/sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/2024-09/undp-bhutan-potatoes-after-being-washed.jpg)
The potato trading centre established by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock and the Food Corporation of Bhutan, will transform the country’s potato trading industry.
Golley, 79, from Gangtey in Wangdue Phodrang district has grown potatoes and sold them all his life. While growing was not a challenge, selling them had been. Golley has had to take his potato harvests to the border towns, mainly Phuentsholing for auction, which is a day’s journey from Gangtey, in central Bhutan.
Once at the auction yard in Phuentsholing, there was no guarantee that Golley could sell his produce the next day. It was also almost next to impossible to sell at a price he wanted. Sometimes he had to wait for over two weeks to make a sale. On several occasions, Golley found himself returning home with unsold potatoes.
![a person standing in front of a building](/sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/2024-09/undp-bhutan-golley-potato_farmer-01.jpg)
Golley, 79, from Gangtey in Wangdue Phodrang district, central Bhutan can now more easily market his potatoes.
![a person standing in front of a building](/sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/2024-09/undp-bhutan-golley-potato_farmer-02.jpg)
The potato centre at Gangtey has state-of-the-art facilities for washing, grading and packaging.
Golley's struggle is shared by other potato farmers in Gangtey and Phobjikha, and many other potato growing districts in Bhutan. However, the struggles are now set to become a thing of the past with the opening of the new Potato Trade Facilitation Centre for Gangtey and Phobjikha communities. The centre, a first of its kind, established by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock and the Food Corporation of Bhutan Limited (FCBL), will transform the country’s potato trading. Supported by the Global Environment Facility’s Least Developed Countries’ Fund and UNDP, together with FAO, the centre offers online auctions. This means the farmers can trade their potato harvests in Gangtey. They no longer have to undertake long journeys to the Phuntsholing auction yard, saving both time and travel costs.
The online auction will streamline transactions with efficient management of bidding, pricing and payments, offering significant benefits to both farmers and buyers. The centre is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities for washing, drying, grading, sorting and packaging potatoes. This will ensure potatoes meet growing export standards. It will help reduce post-harvest losses significantly and lead to increased sales. Phobjikha and Gangtey are major producers of potatoes Bhutan with around 1,500 acres, accounting for 53 percent of Wangdue Phodrang district’s potato acreage and 17 percent of the national acreage. Together, they produce 12,000 metric tons of potatoes yearly, which makes up 67 percent of Wangdue Phodrang’s total potato production and 37 percent of the total national production.
Approximately 90 percent of the crop produced by more than 1,000 farmers is exported through auctions at Phuntsholing, making farmers heavily reliant on this method. The total income from potato farming in Phobjikha and Gangtey amounts to 29 percent of the national potato export value.
Inaugurating the centre, the Minister for Agriculture and Livestock, Lyonpo Younten Phuntsho said that in light of increasing marketing challenges, including fluctuating international market conditions, new trade regulations, standardization requirements, import restrictions, and rising competition, the domestic market alone cannot absorb the high volume of production.
“For exports, particularly to India—Bhutan's principal market—potatoes must now meet stringent standards, including being soil-free, pest-free, properly graded, and packed in standard weights. The Potato Trade Facilitation Centrer in Gangtey is designed to address such needs,” he said.
![a person standing next to a fire hydrant](/sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/2024-09/undp-bhutan-lyonpo-younten-phuntsho-speaking.jpg)
Lyonpo Younten Phuntsho, Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, speaks at the inauguration of the Potato Trade Facilitation Centre.
A similar centre is under construction in Chumey, Bumthang, with plans to offer online auction services by the coming year. Another facility is also being planned for Khaling, aiming to extend these benefits to the farmers in the country’s east. The Chief Executive Officer of FCBL, Dorji Tashi, said online auctioning at the source is a significant step towards advancing Bhutan’s potato marketing development. The FCBL has reassured farmers that once their potatoes are packaged, they will be auctioned online, and the farmers will receive their payments within three days.
![a group of people that are standing in the grass](/sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/2024-09/undp-bhutan-dorji-tashi.jpg)
Dorji Tashi, Chief Executive Officer of the Food Corporation of Bhutan, says online auctioning at the source is a significant step towards advancing Bhutan’s potato marketing.
The Resident Representative of UNDP Bhutan, Mohammad Younus, described the Gangtey centre as a groundbreaking initiative and said that UNDP is proud to have supported it.
“I have heard about the struggles of potato farmers who had to take their potatoes all the way to Phuentsoholing and spend days there to sell their harvests. With online auction system in place, they can now trade their potatoes from Gangtey. The centre will be a game changer that would enable farmers to get the most for their potato harvests, leading to increased trade, better prices and improved livelihoods.”
![a man wearing a suit and tie](/sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/2024-09/undp-bhutan-mohammad-younus.jpg)
Mohammad Younus, Resident Representative UNDP Bhutan says the Gangtey potato trading centre is a groundbreaking initiative.