DAIRY FARMING ENHANCES HOUSEHOLD INCOME IN PERI-URBAN AND RURAL AREAS OF CHOEKOR IN BUMTHANG, BHUTAN

Abstract

A study was carried out with the objective to determine the contribution of dairy farming to the total household income in Bumthang. Choekor subdistrict was selected for the study. The study considered Lower Choekor as peri-urban areas and Upper Choekor as rural areas. A multistage sampling method was employed to select representative households from peri-urban and rural areas. A total of 100 households were randomly selected from two study areas, using the systematic random sampling method. A semi-structured survey questionnaire was used to collect both quantitative and qualitative data. The mean gross income from dairy farming in peri-urban (Nu. 63,836) was significantly higher than the rural areas (Nu. 31,918). Dairy farming was ranked as the most important source of income in peri-urban areas and second most important income source for the farmers in rural areas. Dairy contributed over 42% to the total households’ income in peri-urban areas and over 26% in rural areas. Dairy production can be further enhanced through supply of subsidized commercial feed, improvement in nutritional quality of available crop residues and development of market networks.