Agriculture
The Agriculture Sector under the Dzongkhag Administration, Samtse, functions as the Dzongkhag -level extension arm of the Department of Agriculture (DoA), Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MoAL), Royal Government of Bhutan.
The sector is committed to improving the livelihoods of farming communities by promoting sustainable agricultural development, enhancing food and nutrition security, increasing farm productivity, and supporting commercialization of agriculture. Under the Technical guidance of the DoA, MoAL, and through close collaboration with nodal agencies under the DoA, development partners, gewog administration, and farming communities, the Agriculture Sector delivers high-quality extension services. It implements national agricultural policies and development programmes.
In line with the Vision and Mission of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, the Agriculture Sector strives to build a resilient, productive, market-oriented, and climate-smart agriculture sector that contributes to rural prosperity and national food self-sufficiency.
Roles and Responsibilities
The Agriculture Sector is responsible for:
- Delivering agricultural extension and advisory services to farmers.
- Promoting improved crop production technologies and climate-smart agricultural practices.
- Supporting food and nutrition security initiatives.
- Facilitating sustainable land management and soil fertility improvement.
- Facilitating crop insurance registration and claims
- Implementing government agriculture programmes and projects.
- Coordinating irrigation development, farm roads and farm mechanization programmes.
- Promoting integrated pest and disease management.
- Supporting organic and sustainable farming practices.
- Facilitating protected agriculture (greenhouses) and high-value crop production.
- Facilitating land conversion (wetland to dryland and dryland to Khimsa)and Orchard to dryland, and facilitating land lease activities.
- Liaise with the EDMO and DAMC; the sector promotes post-harvest management, value addition, and market linkages, and strengthens farmer groups and cooperatives,
- Collecting agricultural statistics and maintaining farmer databases.
- Providing technical support during natural disasters affecting agriculture.
- Building farmers’ capacity through training, demonstrations, and field visits.
Services Provided
The Agriculture Sector provides the following services to farmers and the general public:
- Agricultural advisory and extension services
- Crop production technical guidance
- Soil sampling and soil fertility management advice
- Pest and disease diagnosis and management
- Farm mechanization advisory services
- Irrigation and farm roads development support
- Protected agriculture (greenhouse) support
- Farmer registration and database management
- Seed and planting material promotion
- Capacity-building and farmer training programmes
- Support for Farmer Groups and Cooperatives
- Agricultural project implementation, facilitation and monitoring
- Climate-resilient agriculture interventions
- Facilitate land conversion and land lease activities
- Facilitate Crop Insurance registration and claims assessments
Online/Digital Services
The Agriculture Sector is progressively adopting digital service delivery through:
- Farmer Registration System (FRS)
- Digital collection and reporting of agricultural data
- Agricultural advisories and notifications on weather advisories through group chat /socia media and Information sharing through the Sector WhatsApp
- Electronic submission of reports and programme monitoring systems (where applicable)
Required Documents for Service Delivery
Forms, Guidelines and Downloadable Resources
The following documents are available from the Agriculture Sector Office or can be downloaded from the Dzongkhag website (where applicable):
- Crop Insurance Registration and claim forms (download from the DoA websites)
- Wetland Conversion Application Form (download from the Land Commission website)
- Relevant Department of Agriculture Guidelines and SoPs ( DoA websites)
Our Commitment
"Delivering quality agricultural extension services for sustainable rural development, improved livelihoods, enhanced food security, and a resilient farming community."
Downloads
Nothing to download in this sector.
Staff
Chogyal Norbu
Chief Dzongkhag Agriculture Officer
05-365613 chogyelnorbu@moaf.gov.bt
