GTZ Project Document No. 51 Report on Nahi Baseline Survey

Nahi Baseline Survey April- May 2001AbstractNahi geog under Wangdue Dznogkhag is the pilot project area of Bhutan GermanSustainable RNR Development <strong>Project</strong> (BG-SRDP). As such, in the past a series ofstudies have been conducted in the valley in collaboration with other institutes andindividuals. In addition the construction of the 11.85 km new access road started in2000 represents a significant contribution and an important landmark in the history ofthe valley’s overall infrastructure development. Therefore, the idea to developbaseline information on the geog inorder to monitor short-term changes during the<strong>Project</strong> implementation phase for future studies has obliged the <strong>Project</strong> to conduct thisstudy.Nahi valley has almost 90% of its total area under forest. The valley is home to about622 people (95 households). Agriculture is the main occupation of the peopleproviding direct employment to about 60% of the working population. In most caseswhatever is produced is consumed or retained on the farm for production purposes.The terraced irrigated wetland dominate the landuse pattern in the valley followed bysome dryland and tsheri. The paddy is the dominant summer crop in the wetlandfollowed by wheat and barley during winter and early spring. The dry land cropsinclude maize, wheat, barley and buckwheat.The four main villages of the geog are Esawom, Hebisa, Nabisa and Esagom that arescattered over a large area. Most farmers do not have enough land (especially paddyland), landholdings range from households with no or little land to as high as 14 acres.As such, the wetland sharecropping is very common approximately accounting for23% of the total wetland in the valley. The geog, though small, shows a high degreeof social differentiation especially with respect to wealth where majority require someseasonal food arrangements.Crop damages by wild animals, inadequate water for irrigation, and labour shortageduring the peak season represent the three major problems in crop production.Although on an average each household has about 3.3 persons available on the farmirrespective of their age, only 2.2 persons are within the most active age group 16-49.About 87% of the total farm households practice labour exchange with neighboursand relatives.Crops are the most important income source for the majority of the households with ascore of 276 points, followed by vegetables (108), family contribution (88), livestock(72) and forest products (69). The forest and livestock are important components ofthe valley’s farming system both as a source of income as well as inputs forproduction.Household seasonal food shortages are generally met with some arrangement throughrelatives and neighbours or by purchasing from the market. For example, only 65% ofthe total respondents have sufficient rice while 35% need seasonal arrangements (22%meet the deficiency from market and 13% from neighbours and relatives).iii