Building resilient food systems in Bhutan, March 2024

Using a resilient food system and a demand-led agriculture value chain approach, WFP aims to support Bhutan’s national pathways for food systems development in key areas to expand investments and capacities in resilient food systems, integrating nutrition considerations into social protection programmes such as school feeding, and strengthening systems for emergency preparedness and response.

In Bhutan, 60 percent of the population are engaged in agriculture, but the country imports 50 percent of its total food requirements. There are several challenges within Bhutan’s food systems, which became pronounced with the COVID-19 pandemic. To build high-performing and resilient food systems in Bhutan, the Government has identified eight transformative pathways, a joint result of the UN Food Systems Summit in 2021. The pathways will ensure a resilient food systems that assures access to affordable, safe and nutritious food for all, double smallholder farmers’ incomes, empower women and reduce drudgery.