Sunsari. Earlier, it was customary to have vegetables in the village in the city. The fields were filled with weeds, and the main focus of the villagers was on cattle and goats. But now that scene has changed. Vegetables like bodi, cucumber and cauliflower have made the village’s fields colorful.
The farmers here have become accustomed to taking care of the vegetables of the fields before waking up in the morning and going to the cowshed. The production has increased so much that now the vegetables of the villagers have started reaching the haat bazaars of the city. This journey towards self-reliance started with seed soil, which is now changing the lifestyle of the village, and sweetness is spreading in the life of the village. Most of the farmers of Barahkshetra Municipality have already left for the fields carrying doko, sickles and sacks without the sun rising in the morning.
Looking at each of the fields of these areas, the scene of some picking cucumbers, some picking cauliflower, some picking bodis, copies, and some carrying vegetables in sacks to the market is different. Today, there has been an increase in the market-like movement in the village in the morning. Rita Rajbanshi, 48, is seen there. He has been cultivating vegetables for nine years. Recalling the past days, she said, “My husband was abroad 13 years ago. It was difficult to manage the household expenses when we earned Rs 20,000-30,000 a month after earning abroad, but now we are cultivating vegetables in the village.” With the money of selling vegetables, we have not only been able to easily meet the household expenses, but we have been able to save more than Rs 80,000 per month.
Rajbanshi couple now cultivate commercial vegetables on three bighas of land, which was barren earlier. There were no people working in the house, corn and pumpkin were planted in a few places, but there was no cash. “Now vegetables have changed their behaviour. Vegetables can be sold every day, a little more money comes in hand,” she said.
In his vegetable field, seasonal vegetables like cucumber, bodi, ghiraula, kopi, cauliflower are planted. Rita said, “Vegetables worth Rs 800,000-900,000 will be sold easily like last year if irrigation and sewage are mixed in time. There was a look of confidence and happiness on his face. She smiled and said, “Earlier it seemed that money is abroad, but now it seems that the money is in the soil of its own country. ’
Like the Rajbanshi family, farmers from most of the local households in Barah area are now enjoying vegetable farming. Vegetable farming has opened the way for self-reliance along with employment in the village. On the one hand, the sweat of the farmers, and on the other hand, the greenery of the field has not only seen a change in the Barah area, but the journey from the field to the market and the journey towards self-reliance has also started.
Information Officer of Sunsari Agriculture Knowledge Center, Praveen Lal Shrestha, said that Agriculture Knowledge Center Sunsari has been supporting the promotion of vegetable farming in various rural areas including Barahkshetra Municipality of Sunsari. According to him, the Centre has been providing technical assistance to local vegetable farmers every year, including cash, improved seeds, irrigation equipment, training on fertilizer and pesticide management and soil testing of the fields.
In addition, regular trainings, workshops and technical observation programs in collaboration with farmers’ groups and cooperatives have increased the interest and confidence of farmers in modern agricultural technology.
According to Shrestha, modern vegetable farming has made many farmers of Barah region self-reliant. Not only for daily consumption, the trend of increasing income by selling in the market is also expanding. The Centre has been providing quick response and continuous counselling services to address vegetable storage, market access, pest outbreaks and weather problems. “As a result of such programmes, there has been a significant increase in the income of farmers, which is also a positive sign towards the economic transformation of the entire village,” he said. ’
Many of the fields in Barah area of Sunsari, which used to be barren earlier, are now covered with greenery. Now, almost every day, the farmers of the village reach the haat bazaar with vegetables grown in their fields. As a result of soil, sweat and hard work, the nature of self-reliance in village life has changed. A few years ago, the scene in this area was different. Most of the youth used to go to the Gulf countries with the burden of debt, the village used to be deserted, the fields were barren, but now many youths have returned to the village after leaving foreign employment. Young people who have left the hot sun abroad are now enjoying the greenery of their fields.
Three youths from Dholabazia of Barahkshetra Municipality-9, who returned from foreign employment, have collectively started a ‘Beautiful Agriculture Farm’. Amir Niraula, Raghubir Chandrabanshi and Chhabilal Chaudhary have started commercial vegetable farming using their experience abroad in the village. Amir and Raghubir returned home after working in South Korea for five years, while Chhabilal returned home from Afghanistan. All three of them returned home and registered a farm in 2074 BS and started cultivating vegetables with an investment of Rs 600,000 from one and a half bighas of land. At present, their vegetable cultivation is spread over 20 bighas of land.
They have planted cucumber on four bighas, tomatoes on three bighas, capsicum on one bigha and body, bitter gourd, gourd and cabbage on the remaining 12 bighas. Amir said, “By investing money from abroad, the income is good, employment has also been provided in the village, income and satisfaction have also been achieved.” According to raghubir, another operator, vegetables worth Rs 10 million are sold annually from the farm. The annual expenditure including fertilizer and salary is around Rs 6 million. 20 locals have also got employment in the farm.
Operator ChhabiLal said that most of the vegetables produced now are taken by the traders for sale. The remaining vegetables are sold in dharan’s agricultural produce, itahari, Inaruwa and Barah areas. There is no problem of market for sale to them, traders themselves go to the farm to buy vegetables. He said that along with government grants and support from various organizations, digital marketing has also made it easier to cultivate agriculture.
These youths who have returned home are not only greenery from vegetables in the village but are also creating a new path of self-reliance. With the idea of seeing the possibilities in the country, the barren fields of Barah region have got a new form and the youth have got employment in their own villages. Arjun Chandravanshi of Tappu of Barahkshetra Municipality-9, Sri Lanka is enjoying vegetable farming. At present, his four bigha farm produces seasonal vegetables including vegetables, potatoes, kopi, bodi and cauliflower. Arjun is no longer alone. His four sons are also supporting him in the same rhythm.
Arjun Chandravanshi’s main source of income is cauliflower cultivation. According to his son Shriram, he earns around Rs 3 million annually from cauliflower alone. He said, “Initially, we used to cultivate greens, potatoes and kopi, but recently we have paid attention to it as we have started earning good income from cauliflower.” If the weather permits, the production will be good. Sometimes it is difficult to pick and sell. ’
There is no problem of marketing as the demand for cauliflower is high in the market. Traders from Dhankuta, Dharan, Itahari, Gaighat, Rajbiraj and other places regularly come to the fields to buy vegetables including cauliflower. Not only four brothers in Arjun’s family, but 20 more people have also got employment in the farm.
Tulasa Limbu, chief of the agriculture section of Barahkshetra Municipality, said vegetable farming has played an important role in making the farmers self-reliant in the village. According to him, most of the farmers of Barah area municipality area are now earning a good income by producing green vegetables in their own fields and selling them in the local haat market. “Vegetable production has not only contributed to food security but also to changing the economic structure of the village,” limbu said.
The municipality has been providing technical training to farmers, improved seeds, fertilizers, irrigation facilities, subsidy for the construction of plastic tunnels and facilitating market management. “We are making efforts to streamline the process from production to marketing by coordinating with farmers and farmers’ groups,” he said. Employment generation is increasing in the villages. Youths who have gone for foreign employment have also started returning to agriculture. The awareness has now spread in the villages that you can earn a good income by sweating in your own soil by staying in the country. However, the impact of climate change has added some challenges to the farmers, he added.
Limbu said that due to problems such as erratic rains, excessive heat, hailstorm, etc., crops are damaged, disease pests increase and overall production decreases. According to him, the use of technology such as selection of weather-friendly crops, plastic tunnels, drip irrigation system, organic pest control should be increased.
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