THIMPHU, 01 August 2021, (TON): The Centenary Famers’ Market (CFM) in Thimphu was handed over from the Bhutan Agriculture and Food Regulatory Authority (BAFRA) to the Department of Agricultural Marketing and Cooperatives (DAMC) under the agriculture ministry on July 28.

The facility was under Thimphu Thromde after its establishment in 2007. It was managed by BAFRA from 2008 till the end of July this year.

DAMC’s director Kinlay Tshering said that the facility was handedover to the department to segregate the marketing and the regulation aspects under two different agencies.

DAMC was established in 2009 to better equip and prepare the agriculture ministry to cater for the needs of the rapid transition of the agriculture sector from a primarily subsistence to a major market economy.

BAFRA, established in 2000, functions as the national authority to ensure quality and safety of food and feed.

Kinlay Tshering said that the department’s aim was to focus on local produce and make CFM a transit for marketing agriculture produce.

She said “it is not our intention to replace all the imported produce with local ones.”

She added that with new ideas DAMC will look at how it can promote local produce in such kind of market facility.

Kinlay Tshering said “what farm produce is in deficit will be imported, what we have in excess during on-season, we could export.”