The role of management and farming practices, yield gaps, nutrient balance, and institutional settings in the context of large-scale organic conversion in Bhutan.

In several lower middle income countries, organic agriculture (OA) has emerged as a top-down government initiative backed by strong political interest, which entails the risk of seriously neglecting the challenges faced by many organic farmers. In some cases, the promotion of OA, particularly large-scale OA conversion programs like in Sikkim and Bhutan, has received widespread attention. A system-level analysis of conversion to OA can provide a fair assessment and is desirable but rare. Often, there are serious issues with data paucity hindering deeper analyses of the feasibility of large-scale OA and its system-level challenges. This article aims to analyze the feasibility of large-scale conversion to OA by describing management and farming practices, yield gaps, nutrient balances, as well as the governance and the institutional setting of OA in Bhutan. Bhutan is a suitable case study given the generally good availability of data on the agricultural sector. We conduct qualitative content analysis of annual, status, and consultation reports, and gray literature. We analyze the yield gap between organic and conventional farms using agricultural census data. A tentative aggregated nutrient balance at the district and organic village levels is also carried out relying on data from agricultural surveys and censuses and associated reports. OA in Bhutan requires compliance with the standard requirements defined in the Bhutan Organic Standard (BOS), which is part of the family of standards established by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM). Farmers are increasingly opting for certified organic farming, with 6% and 3% of arable land being registered and certified, respectively, under the local organic assurance system (LOAS). The National Center for Organic Agriculture (NCOA) has instituted model organic villages (MOVs) and provides capacity building training and in-kind farm support to organic farmers. The results of the yield gap analysis show that yields in organic systems are between 18% to 45% lower across the three main agro-ecological zones compared to conventional cropping systems. This could exacerbate the country's food self-sufficiency. The results of the nutrient balance reveal a general nitrogen deficiency which could be mitigated with improved OA practices. OA faces many challenges, such as a shortage of funds for implementing organic programs, missing extension for OA, and a lack of research to improve the existing methods. This paper provides clarity on the challenges faced by farmers under state-driven large-scale OA conversion. Understanding the challenges of converting to OA in Bhutan can lead to transferable findings for many similar contexts characterized by smallholder farming systems. [Display omitted] • Large-scale organic agriculture (OA) in Bhutan–a lower middle income country– is implemented with a top-down approach backed by strong political interest. • A system-level analysis of large-scale conversion to OA can provide a fair assessment of the challenges faced by smallholders. • An in-depth analysis of the large-scale OA policy initiatives in Bhutan is presented. • OA in Bhutan faces challenges in terms of management and farming practices, crop yields, nutrient balances and governance. • Analyzing and understanding the challenges of OA transition in Bhutan can lead to transferable lessons for similar contexts of smallholder farming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]