The small landlocked nation, famed as the happiest country in the world, wedged between China (to the north) and India (to the south), with a population of over 700,000; is on the verge of becoming the first nation in the world to have its agriculture be 100% organic.

The government has set a goal to phase out all artificial chemicals from farming within 10 years.

“Jurmi Dorji, a member of the 103-strong Daga Shingdrey Pshogpa farmers’ association in southern Bhutan, says his fellow members are in favour of the policy. More than a decade ago, people realized that the chemicals were not good for farming,” […] “I cannot say everyone has stopped using chemicals but almost 90 percent have. (Yahoo News Singapore)”

This is great news not only for the people of Bhutan but also the world over as a report published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science demonstrated that after analyzing “74 studies on soils under organic…farming practices, has found that over time, the carbon content in the organic fields significantly increased. For farmers everywhere, that means organic agriculture results in a richer, more productive soil… (Natural Awakenings Magazine)”

Bhutan exports several agricultural commodities to various nations: rare mushrooms to Japan, vegetables to upscale hotels in Thailand, red rice to the United States and apples to several countries including India.

If Bhutan is able to achieve a 100% organic standard for all food they produce, then they will set a very high standard for the world to follow and will let the world know that their country is taking the quality of their food and the preservation of agricultural biodiversity very seriously, not to mention the ability to gain market advantages and price premiums for their exports.

The world should applaud Bhutan for this effort and encourage their own governments to pursue similar goals.

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