The Commercial Agriculture and Resilient Livelihoods Enhancement Program (CARLEP), a ten-year initiative launched in 2016, has been extended for an additional three years.
With the extension, the project will now continue until 2028, thanks to an additional financing approval aimed at enhancing the returns for smallholder farmers through climate-resilient agricultural practices.
Project Director Dorji Wangchuk outlined the primary goal of CARLEP: “The main objective of CARLEP is to increase returns to smallholder farmers through climate-resilient production of crops and livestock within nationally organized value chains and marketing systems.” He emphasized that the project’s success relies on transitioning from a subsistence-based agricultural economy to a sustainable, market-driven sector.
Funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), CARLEP initially received USD 25.51 million (M) for its ten-year span. As of June 30, 2024, approximately USD 19.04M of this allocation has been utilized, leaving a remaining balance of USD 6.47M.
CARLEP builds upon previous and ongoing IFAD-funded initiatives, focusing on increasing agricultural production while also prioritizing marketing and climate-resilient farming practices.
The project’s key interventions include infrastructure support such as irrigation, land development, and electric fencing, along with advancements in vegetable commercialization, smart irrigation, small-scale processing units, biogas, market linkages, dairy processing, and agro-processing.
Under CARLEP, vegetable production surged from 11,343 metric tons (MT) in 2016 to 14,763 MT in 2020, marking a nearly 30% increase. Additionally, farmers’ incomes grew by 217% between 2016 and 2020, largely due to vegetable sales to schools and institutions. Notably, vegetable sales amounted to Nu 344.23M, facilitated by 221 farmer groups connected to 144 schools through the project.
Beyond enhancing agricultural production, CARLEP aims to build resilience against climate-induced shocks. The project supports the Royal Government of Bhutan’s 13th Five-Year Plan, which emphasizes climate-resilient agriculture, value-chain enhancement, and policy dialogue to advance agricultural commercialization.
CARLEP is set to benefit over 28,975 smallholder households, with 7,115 households directly engaging in vegetable and dairy value chains. Current activities include participatory planning for climate-smart villages, promoting permaculture, enhancing community agriculture extension services, and providing nutritional education through home gardening programs.
Additionally, CARLEP is involved in building rural infrastructure, including farm roads, irrigation systems, cold storage facilities, and electric fencing, while fostering improvements in management and coordination to support sustainable development in rural areas.
CARLEP focuses on several key activities aimed at transforming Bhutan’s agricultural sector to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers and enhance resilience to climate change.
The Project works to boost the incomes of smallholder farmers by commercializing production (Transitioning from subsistence farming to a more market-oriented approach, which includes increasing the scale and efficiency of agricultural production) and improving market linkages (Connecting farmers with national and international markets to ensure better prices and access for their products).
The program aims to make agriculture more resilient to climate change through promoting farming practices that are adapted to changing climate conditions. This includes introducing smart irrigation systems and resilient crop varieties.
In infrastructure development, CARLEP builds and improves infrastructure such as irrigation systems, electric fencing, and land development to support climate-resilient farming practices.
CARLEP supports the development of organized value chains and efficient marketing systems by investing in facilities like small-scale processing units and cold storage to reduce post-harvest losses and add value to agricultural products, and enhancing capabilities in agro-processing to diversify products and increase their market value.
Among others, CARLEP supports Bhutan’s national development goals by aligning its activities with the Royal Government’s 13th Five-Year Plan, focusing on climate-resilient agriculture, value-chain enhancement, and agricultural commercialization.
CARLEP is designed to improve the productivity, profitability, and sustainability of Bhutanese agriculture by enhancing resilience to climate change, developing market-oriented value chains, and supporting rural infrastructure and capacity building.
By Sherab Dorji, Thimphu
