… expects NC elect to deliver it to them

As an agrarian society, the annual average household income from agriculture in Dagana is Nu 73,040. Every year, they lose a major chunk of their produce to wildlife depredation and natural disasters.

As pledged, most of the voters from Dagana now want their National Council (NC) elect, Birendra Chimoria, to ensure that the crop compensation mechanism comes through during his five-year term in the House of Review.

The NC elect who won with 7,143 votes—1,846 postal ballots and 5,297 electronic voting machine (EVM) votes—during his campaign pledged to recommend policy for agriculture produce enhancement, protection, and compensation.

A resident of lower Gozhi, Ugyen Wangchuk, said that farmers face challenges of crop damage from natural disasters. “I hope the NC elect fulfils the pledges. We need policy support to ensure that farmers are protected.”

Most of the incidents of crop damage are reported from the three gewogs of Nichula, Lhamoidzingkha, and Karmaling in Lhamoidzingkha Drungkhag. Residents say that the human-wildlife conflict with elephants had increased in recent years. Since 2014, three major animal attacks were reported in the drungkhag with fatalities. 

Residents said that the elephants have started rampaging through areca nut orchards even. Almost 70 percent of the population depend on areca nut for income.

The dzongkhag is prone to natural disasters such as windstorms and rainstorms. For example, last April, heavy rain and windstorms damaged more than 167 acres of maize fields in Karmaling and Nichula gewogs.