In the quiet hills and lush valleys of rural Bhutan, something unsettling is happening, homes are being left empty, and once-thriving farmland is falling into disuse. This growing phenomenon, known as goongtong (vacant households) and satong (abandoned land), reflects a deeper, more urgent issue: the steady decline of rural life and the growing fragility of Bhutan’s agricultural backbone.
A recent study by the Good Governance Committee (GGC) of the National Council of Bhutan paints a sobering picture. Over the past decade, the country has seen a 10 percent decline in cultivated land, with rice paddies, long a staple of Bhutanese farming being hit the hardest. Nearly 6,000 households, mostly in the eastern regions, now stand empty.
At the heart of this exodus is a familiar story: rural youth moving to cities in search of better education, jobs, and lifestyle. But beneath that are persistent structural challenges poor irrigation systems, human-wildlife conflict, and a chronic shortage of farm labour that are making rural life not only difficult, but increasingly unsustainable.
The decline isn’t just about numbers. It’s about food security, national identity, and the social fabric that binds our communities together.
A Shrinking Agrarian Dream
Bhutan once prided itself on self-sufficiency, particularly in staple crops like rice. But today, rice self-sufficiency has plummeted from 40.8 percent in 2018 to just 25.2 percent in 2022. Meanwhile, over 66,000 acres of arable land lie fallow a staggering figure for a nation that still relies heavily on agriculture for livelihoods and nutrition.
What’s Being Done?
The government is taking action. Under the 13th Five-Year Plan, efforts are being made to incentivize farming and make rural life more viable. This includes:
- Flexible use of fallow land, especially wetlands that are no longer suited for rice farming.
- Improved crop insurance and irrigation systems to protect farmers against environmental and economic risks.
- Massive investment in fencing technologies to mitigate human wildlife conflict, which has long plagued rural communities.
- Support for youth in agriculture through collateral-free loans and training programs.
There’s also talk of launching a Community Vitality Programme aimed at revitalizing border gewogs and strengthening local governance to give people real reasons to stay in their villages.
Still, More Is Needed
Despite the plans and promises, the issue runs deep. Reviving rural Bhutan will require more than policy it demands a cultural shift, one that reimagines agriculture not as a last resort, but as a sustainable and even attractive livelihood.
We must invest in making rural life live able schools, hospitals, digital connectivity, and infrastructure that give people the dignity and opportunity they deserve, wherever they choose to live.
The Future Is in the Fields
If we’re serious about food security, climate resilience, and balanced development, we can’t afford to lose our farms or our farmers.
It’s time we stop seeing goongtong and satong as distant rural problems and start recognising them for what they are: urgent national challenges that need all of us to care, and act.
