Agriculture Division

TSO Tenzingang taking initiative in mass tree plantation

Agriculture section:

Nearly 60% of Tibetans in exile live in Agricultural settlements in India, Nepal and Bhutan. Before 1996 there was no separate division/section which looks after the agriculture and allied activities in the settlements. And there was decline in agriculture outputs, which lead to the decline in income of the farmers. Slowly, they were losing interest in farming.

So, the Central Tibetan Administration felt necessary to have Agriculture Division/Section within the Department of Home. In 1996, the Central Tibetan Administration formally instituted Agriculture Division within the Department of Home with one senior staff (Joint Secretary). In 1998, one more staff was appointed to assist. In 2001, the Department appointed 12 Agriculture Extension Officers (AEO) in 12 major Agriculture Settlements in India.

The Agriculture Division has two sections:

  1. Agriculture section: སོ་ནམ་ལས་གཞི་ཚན་པ།
  2. Cooperative Section: མཉམ་འབྲེལ་རོགས་སྐྱོར་ཚན་པ།

Since the establishment of Agriculture Division, the Division has been looking after the affairs of Agriculture and allied activities in Settlements. The Division has spared no effort in executing various agricultural and allied projects through the support from both Government and non-governmental organization and individuals.

Looking back into the past few decades of Tibetan exiled life, we can clearly see that Agriculture Division was quite successful to a great extent in establishing Tibetan settlements sustainable and in helping the farmers achieve rapid improvement in their source of livelihood. Of the 125642 number of Tibetan population concentrated in 56 settlements; 24 settlements are predominantly agricultural base while 14 and 18 settlements are dependent on handicraft and small scale business venture respectively. It’s been DoH’s biggest responsibility to look after the welfare of these settlements.

Agriculture division following below processes to take Tibetan agriculture out of stagnation and decline :

  • Transform from Small-holdings Low-tech to Collective-large holding High-tech Mechanized Agriculture
  • Transform Tibetan Agriculture from Farm Production to Agribusiness Model
  • Transform Tibetan Agriculture using 3 P’s-Privatization, Partnering, and Professionalism
A. Interventions are being carried out by Agricultural Section
B. Special interventions are being carried out by Agricultural section
Words of appreciation:

With due respect to His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s vision to evolve our lifestyle in the interest of the our fragile environment and to protect all forms of life at large, we have consistently pursue our efforts to discourage the use of chemical fertilizers and gradually integrate organic practice in our culture. Therefore, it is our moral and social responsibility to act wisely and avoiding any harm on nature will be greatly appreciated.

Anyone interested in any of the above mentioned activities we are engaged in or is desirous of supporting our project may contact us at the following address.

Department of Home –
Central Tibetan Administration, CTA
Agriculture Division,  Gangchen Kyishong,
Dharamsala – 176215 District Kangra, H.P
Phone:  +91 1892  222412, 222214, 229230
Fax:   +91 1892  225065 ;
Email: [email protected], [email protected] ;
Website :  www.tibet.net

Menu