Frequently Asked Questions
SECTIONS:
Basic Facts
Hazelnuts in Bhutan
Business Model
Impact
For Farmers
1. BASIC FACTS
Active Acres (2022): 4,250 acres
Carbon sequestration: Estimated 500,000 MT of carbon sequestered over project lifetime.
Total annual production : 5 metric tons (2022), scaling to over 2,000 MT over next 15 years.
2. HAZELNUTS IN BHUTAN
Agro-climatically speaking, Bhutan’s mid-elevation areas (approximately 1,600-3,000 meters) have the right conditions for hazelnuts. Bhutan has consistent annual monsoon rains, providing adequate rainfall for tree growth, and cool winters that induce trees into dormancy, allowing them to harden. Hazelnuts are indigenous to the Himalayan region, although they have never been commercially cultivated. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forests recognized the potential of hazelnuts in the 1990s and established hazelnut trial orchards which have thrived for nearly two decades, demonstrating that Bhutan has suitable conditions for hazelnut production.
What is the appearance of a hazelnut tree?
It is a bushy, multi-stemmed deciduous tree with a dense network of wide-spreading roots.
What is tissue culture, and how are hazelnuts produced from it?
Hazelnut tissue culture is the replication and growth of plant tissue in a nutrient medium under sterile conditions. The process produces many tiny plants, each identical to the original, making tissue culture an ideal technique for reproducing plants with the most desirable traits. Hazelnut tissue culture is complex; the Mountain Hazelnuts team has developed considerable expertise in this area. The tissue culture micropropagation is conducted under Company oversight in a state of the art lab, from which the plantlets are transported to the Lingmethang nursery to grow into larger saplings.
What are hazelnuts used for?
Hazelnuts are eaten plain as a healthy snack food, as well as commonly used in chocolate-based confectionery, baking, and nut spreads. There are savory uses for hazelnuts as well.
What is the nutritional value of hazelnuts?
Hazelnuts are high in protein, healthy unsaturated fats (primarily oleic acid), thiamine, manganese, copper, vitamin E, vitamin B6, and antioxidants. Hazelnuts have the highest levels of folate and proanthocyanidin among tree nuts.
What land is suitable for hazelnuts?
While local conditions may vary in Bhutan, generally, land between 1,600-3,000 meters has the agroclimatic requirements of sufficient chill during the winter to induce dormancy and sufficient heat during warm seasons to support strong growth and fruiting. Hazelnuts prefer slightly acidic, well-drained soils. Excessively sandy or marshy soils should be avoided. Mountain Hazelnuts only works with growers who plant on fallow, degraded land that is categorized in Bhutan as “dry land,” as opposed to rice paddy, known as “wetland.” For farmers or community organizations without land, hazelnuts may be planted on government land through special lease arrangements, which require confirming that cultivation would generate no negative environmental effects. To date, studies show that planting hazelnuts leads to many positive environmental impacts.
3. Business Model
How big is the market for hazelnuts, and who are the main buyers?
The market for hazelnuts is one of the larger global markets for tree-nut crops. European buyers currently represent 85% of the market.
Why is hazelnut production a major economic opportunity for Bhutan?
Bhutan possesses the right agroclimatic conditions to produce hazelnuts. Demand for hazelnuts is growing, and it is a high-value crop.
What is the Public-Private-Community Partnership between MH and the Royal Government of Bhutan?
This partnership is based on a 30-year Memorandum of Understanding between the Royal Government of Bhutan and Mountain Hazelnuts, structured with the aim of creating sustainable income for farmers, positive environmental effects, foreign currency earnings for the Government, and a profitable, sustainable private company. This partnership is based on mutual dependence; each partner must benefit for the project to succeed.
What does it mean that Mountain Hazelnuts is a triple-bottom-line social enterprise?
A triple-bottom-line company is one that provides positive social and environmental impacts for the communities where it operates while being financially self-sustainable. For Mountain Hazelnuts, the community is Bhutan, its farmers, and landscapes. As a private company, Mountain Hazelnuts must deliver a fair return to investors while fulfilling its social and environmental missions.
Why does Mountain Hazelnuts give trees to farmers free of cost?
The hazelnut trees are valuable; most farmers could not afford to purchase the trees and invest in the labor and other inputs to create hazelnut orchards. Thus, to support farmers, a long-term collaboration model was created, which recognizes the contributions they make to hazelnut production. Given the cost of trees, paying for them upfront would represent a potential financial burden to farmers.
What is a floor price and how does it benefit hazelnut farmers?
The farmers are guaranteed a floor price that enables them to plan ahead, knowing that they have a secure market and attractive profit margin. The floor price was established in consultation with Bhutan’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, which evaluated the return that hazelnut growers would receive on their investment of labor and inputs and ensure that hazelnut would be an attractive long-term crop compared to alternatives that could be grown in their altitude zone (such as apples, walnuts, or potatoes).
How much is the total investment in the enterprise?
Mountain Hazelnuts is investing $30 million. It has already built the world's largest hazelnut nurseries in Lingmethang, Ngatshang, and Bumthang, and has constructed a hazelnut processing factory in Eastern Bhutan, adding value in-country.
4. IMPACT
What are the benefits to Bhutan of the Hazelnut Project?
At full production, hazelnuts will become a meaningful source of foreign currency earnings. This will help considerably with Bhutan's balance of payments.
What is GNH, and how does the Mountain Hazelnut project fit into this concept?
GNH stands for Gross National Happiness, a system for measuring the well-being of a population. The concept was promulgated by His Majesty the Fourth King Jigme Singye Wangchuck and has helped the country to thoughtfully plan its future, based on the four pillars of:
Sustainable development
Preservation and promotion of cultural values
Conservation of the natural environment
Establishment of good governance
The Mountain Hazelnuts model actively works to contribute to these areas.
How many hazelnut orchards will be engaged in full production?
Up to 15,000 orchards will be planted in Bhutan, owned by smallholder farmer households, monasteries, nunneries, community organizations, and local entrepreneurs.
What is the impact on employment?
Mountain Hazelnuts currently employees approximately 65 full time staff among its field operation, nursery and office sites across the country. The Company further supports hundreds of entrepreneurs who supply goods and services to the Company.
What training and support does Mountain Hazelnuts provide to employees and farmers?
Capacity building and professional development are priorities for Mountain Hazelnuts, both internally and in the communities where the Company is active. In total, more than 8,000 people have received training from Mountain Hazelnuts, including employees, farmers, and government officials. All team members have completed in-house training, a network of field staff receive regular classroom and field training, and certain staff have been sent for overseas training. For farmers, the Field Extension Teams provide formal and informal training to grower partners regarding hazelnut production, from field layout and planting through plant care and pest control, to harvest and post-harvest processing.
How does planting hazelnut orchards improve natural ecosystems?
Planting hazelnut trees improves the fertility and quality of topsoil in orchards. The shallow root structure of hazelnut trees is ideal for reducing erosion on Bhutan's steep slopes, where topsoil layers are thin. By reducing erosion, hazelnut trees reduce sediment loading in nearby streams and rivers.
What are the greenhouse gas benefits of planting hazelnut trees?
Current estimates are that Bhutan will sequester approximately 500,000 metric tons of atmospheric carbon over the next 35 years, helping to counter climate change. The Company is in the process of developing a Voluntary Carbon Market program is support of its’ smallholder partners.
Can hazelnuts be grown organically?
Yes, hazelnuts can be grown organically and the Company advises farmers on specific organic growing methods. Hazelnuts are a relatively vigorous and “wild” crop which require few inputs.
Are hazelnuts planted on prime agricultural land or are trees cut down to make way for orchards?
Absolutely not. Mountain Hazelnuts inspects every site to consider the ecological impact before an orchard is designed. No hazelnuts are planted on land that is cultivated or designated as “wetland” (rice paddy). Approval is only given for those sites that meet the agreed principles. In the event there is a large tree in a prospective orchard, the hazelnuts are planted around the tree.
Does planting hazelnuts affect food security?
Since hazelnuts are only being planted on fallow land, not land currently used to produce food or other crops, hazelnut farming will not reduce the total amount of food produced in Bhutan. Moreover, through providing farmers with additional income, the Hazelnut Project helps stabilize access to food through increasing farmer buying power.
Can hazelnuts be intercropped?
Hazelnuts can be intercropped with row crops, increasing soil organic carbon and improving nitrogen cycling efficiency, compared with annual monocrops. A 2004 study conducted by the University of Guelph in Canada, showed that carbon sequestration of intercropped hazelnuts can be as much as four times higher than of annual monocrops. Earthworm populations and diversity of beneficial insects and birds were also increased. In addition, intercropping reduces the need for annual tillage, and fertilizer requirements are lower.
Hazelnuts are grown widely spaced, which creates the perfect opportunity for intercropping while the orchards are still young. MH is proud to state that some visionary master farmers have intercropped cash crops, notably cardamom and strawberries in their hazelnut orchards. We recommend and provide guidance to our grower partners on intercropping as it helps them make the most of the available land while also supporting the Nation’s drive toward food security .
5. FOR FARMERS
What are the benefits of growing hazelnuts compared to other crops like apples or potatoes?
Compared to other crops that can be grown between 1,600 and 3,000 meters (such as apples or potatoes), hazelnuts have a better long-term economic rate of return. If farmers factor in the value of their labor and cost of inputs/transportation when comparing crops, hazelnuts come out ahead as they require considerably fewer inputs and less labor to manage. In addition, the guaranteed market and floor price provided by Mountain Hazelnuts removes market risk from this calculation. Prices for other crops fluctuate markedly from year to year, and in some years farmers have no net profit.
How long does it take a hazelnut tree to bear nuts?
The first harvest of hazelnuts is expected 4 to 5 years after initial planting.
What time of year is the harvest?
Harvesting occurs in August to early September, depending on altitude and varieties. Lower altitudes will harvest earlier.
How long will a hazelnut orchard stay productive?
Established orchards typically stay productive for more than 50 years.
How much labor does it take to plant, care for, and harvest trees?
Without mechanization, Hazelnuts require about 30 worker days an acre to plant, 12 to 17 worker days an acre per year to care for the trees, 20 worker days a year to harvest, and 5 worker days for post-harvesting. Where it is possible to undertake mechanization (such as hole diggers and brush-mowers), the workday requirements are considerably less.
How many trees per acre can I plant?
A final spacing of 4x4 m (~200 trees per acre) is maintained to optimize sunlight and avoid overcrowding of trees.
What significant pests and diseases affect hazelnut trees worldwide?
The only serious pest of hazelnut worldwide is Eastern Filbert Blight, which is restricted to certain parts of the USA. It has not spread to other hazelnut growing regions. Stink bugs, nut weevils, and various leaf-eating larvae can lower yields in some seasons, when climatic conditions are favorable, but are manageable. Stem borers are a manageable problem worldwide for all fruit trees.
What does the Field Extension team do, and how often will they come to my orchard?
Mountain Hazelnuts’ Field Extension team live and work in the hazelnut growing areas. The Extension teams work alongside farmers and make regular visits to every field, using MH’s custom built Android-based technology system to report field conditions to the Company’s operational headquarters for continuous monitoring. The team provides expert advice and support to farmers who face difficult growing conditions, investigates and implements advanced pest and animal control measures, and evaluates the social and environmental benefit of orchards to growers and local communities growing hazelnuts.
How can I keep wild animals out of my fields? Does Mountain Hazelnuts provide any help for fencing my orchard?
Mountain Hazelnuts provides support through procuring electric fencing materials at cost, then delivering materials free of transportation cost to the nearest village road head and providing support in installation and maintenance. To facilitate the development of hazelnut orchards throughout Bhutan, MH encourages farmers to purchase the materials and supplies required for hazelnut growing, making available bulk purchasing for electric barbed wire fencing and agri-net, lowering the cost on the grower’s behalf. We have schemes that help hazelnut farmers to fence their orchards, preventing animal damage while lowering the initial cost through bulk purchase and the provision of an advance against the sale of future nuts.
What are the benefits of fencing my orchard?
Where livestock freely graze or wild animals are prevalent, fencing is necessary to protect the hazelnut trees. If farmers cannot afford barbed wire or electric fencing, they should individually fence, protecting each tree, using locally available materials. The Company encourages smallholder farmers to form community groups to take advantage of the different fencing support schemes the Company has in place.
Do I need to irrigate my hazelnut trees?
During establishment of the trees, hazelnut trees, especially those on south-facing slopes, are irrigated at least once a month with two litres of water per tree. Once established (after 4 to 5 years), hazelnut trees should not require supplemental irrigation to survive; however yields will improve if they have some minimal irrigation during the dry season, especially during the period of flowering and pollination. Mountain Hazelnuts field teams help hazelnut growers and communities to install irrigation tanks across Bhutan. With generous support from the Asian Development Bank and the Government of Canada, MH has designed cost-efficient methods for collecting, storing, and distributing water to orchards in areas that face significant water scarcity.