𝐋𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐲-𝐋𝐞𝐝 𝐉𝐨𝐛 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐡𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐧

In an auspicious beginning, the Department of Livestock successfully launched the Inception Workshop for the implementation of the World Bank–supported project (World Bank South Asia), “𝘼𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙅𝙤𝙗 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙍𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙬𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙉𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙡 𝙍𝙚𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙘𝙚 (𝙍𝙉𝙍) 𝙑𝙖𝙡𝙪𝙚 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝘽𝙝𝙪𝙩𝙖𝙣” in Phuentsholing from 16-17 January, 2026. The project marks a major step toward transforming the rural economy through job creation, value addition, and climate-resilient livelihoods, in line with the aspirations of the 13th Five Year Plan of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock.

Among the selected high-potential value chains, dairy has been identified as one of the most strategic and high-impact sectors for inclusive economic transformation. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙉𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝘿𝙖𝙞𝙧𝙮 𝘿𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙥𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝘾𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙚 will serve as the implementing agency for the dairy value chain, providing technical leadership and coordination. The inception workshop was attended by representatives from 14 beneficiary Dzongkhags, central agencies, and technical centres, and was also joined by the Project Manager from the Project Management Unit of the project.

During the workshop, the National Dairy Development Centre briefed the participating Dzongkhags on the major dairy interventions under the project, including implementation modalities, targeting criteria, institutional roles, and expected outcomes. The sessions facilitated detailed discussions on the sequencing of activities, coordination mechanisms between central agencies and Dzongkhags, and alignment with ongoing dairy development programmes. Overall, the workshop provided a common platform to build a shared understanding of project objectives, implementation arrangements, and performance expectations, laying a strong foundation for the effective and coordinated rollout of the interventions.

𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐃𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐲?

Dairy plays a central role in the rural economy, engaging thousands of smallholder farmers, particularly women, and providing a steady source of income, nutrition, and employment throughout the year. It is one of the few livestock sub-sectors with strong daily cash flow potential and clear linkages to local markets, cooperatives, processors, and institutional buyers. Despite this strategic importance, the sector continues to face persistent constraints, including low animal productivity, feed shortages, inconsistent milk quality, weak aggregation and market linkages, and limited incentives for farmers to invest in better production and hygiene practices. These challenges have restricted the sector from transitioning from subsistence-oriented milk production to a commercially viable and job-creating value chain.

The RNR Jobs Project responds to these challenges through a holistic, market-led, and results-oriented approach that focuses on 2𝑿𝑰𝑸 – 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒌 𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒎𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒆𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒌 𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚. On the quantity side, the project emphasizes productivity-enhancing interventions such as improved genetics, better animal nutrition, and climate-smart feeding practices to raise milk yields per animal and per farm. On the quality side, the project prioritizes clean milk production, food safety standards, quality-based pricing, and improved handling and chilling systems to ensure that higher volumes of milk meet market and consumer requirements.

By addressing quantity and quality together, the project moves beyond production alone to strengthen the entire dairy value chain from farm to market. This integrated approach enables farmers to produce more milk of better quality, processors to reduce losses and improve efficiency, and markets to absorb increased production through value addition, branding, and institutional demand.

𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐃𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐲 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭

𝑮𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑹𝒆𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝑻𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒏𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒊𝒆𝒔: Expanded use of bovine sexed and conventional semen to increase the number of productive female calves, accelerate herd improvement, reduce rearing of low-value male calves, improve farm profitability, and lower the carbon footprint per litre of milk.

𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝑬𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝑯𝒆𝒊𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝑩𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝑺𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆 (𝑬𝑯𝑩𝑺): A focused cluster-based approach to develop reliable sources of quality dairy heifers, reduce dependence on cattle imports, manage disease risks, and support commercial dairy expansion in selected gewogs.

𝑨𝒏𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒍 𝑵𝒖𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑭𝒐𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝑫𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒑𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕: Promotion of climate-smart fodder production, labour-saving mechanization, nutrition enrichment technologies, and fodder enterprises to address feed shortages, reduce drudgery especially for women, and improve milk yield and quality.

𝑫𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒚 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑭𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝑺𝒂𝒇𝒆𝒕𝒚: Introduction of comprehensive standards for raw milk, pasteurized milk, and yoghurt to ensure hygiene, safety, and consumer confidence, while enabling processors and cooperatives to meet domestic and future market requirements.

𝑸𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚-𝑩𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝑴𝒊𝒍𝒌 𝑷𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑺𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒎 (𝑸𝑩𝑴𝑷𝑺): A shift from volume-based to quality-based payments that rewards farmers for better milk composition and hygienic quality, reduces adulteration, lowers processing losses, and ensures fair and transparent pricing across the value chain.

𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑𝒔: Market-driven commercial alliances among dairy cooperatives, farmer groups, processors, and buyers, supported through matching grants and business plans to strengthen aggregation, processing, branding, and assured market offtake, creating sustainable rural jobs beyond farming.

𝑫𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒛𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑵𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑫𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒚 𝑰𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑺𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒎 (𝑵𝑫𝑰𝑺): A key pillar of the project is the digital transformation of the dairy sector through nationwide registration of dairy animals, farms, and production systems. NDIS will enable real-time data on breeding, milk production, quality, animal health, and service delivery, strengthening traceability, evidence-based planning, transparency, and accountability across the dairy value chain. This digital backbone will also support EHBS and QBMPS, improve service efficiency, and enable informed decision-making by farmers, cooperatives, and policymakers.

The project is expected to directly benefit more than 42,000 dairy farmers, with a strong focus on women and youth, by creating new employment opportunities in processing, aggregation, logistics, quality testing, marketing, and digital service provision, while improving incomes from existing dairy-related jobs.

The project also complements national initiatives such as Gyalsuung by strengthening domestic dairy production and value chains that support institutional food requirements, enhance youth engagement in agribusiness and service provision, and contribute to national food security and self-reliance. Climate-smart practices embedded across the value chain will also enhance resilience to climate risks and contribute to national climate commitments.

The inception workshop marked the beginning of a coordinated implementation phase involving central agencies, beneficiary Dzongkhags, and technical centre. Successful implementation will depend on strong collaboration, shared ownership by farmers and value chain actors, and sustained commitment to quality, innovation, and digital transformation.