By Jay Krishna Yadav
Inaruwa, Aug. 31: Around 15 years after a devastating flood hit Koshi Rural Municipality in Sunsari, local farmers are increasingly turning to commercial vegetable farming.
Fields that once lay barren have now been transformed into green vegetable farms, allowing farmers to earn a good income while living in their own villages and moving towards self-reliance, said Ajit Kumar Jha of Koshi Rural Municipality-6.
Jha said many farmers in areas severely affected by the Koshi River’s erosion have recently become interested in vegetable farming after removing sand from the riverbed and flood-damaged land. Many of them have started cultivating eggplant in particular.
According to Jha, farmers in western Kushaha of Koshi-3 and Sripurjabdi and surrounding areas of Koshi-4, 5 and 6 have found eggplant, pointed gourd and yard-long bean cultivation to be major sources of income.
Local farmer Bindeshwar Yadav said he reaches his farm before sunrise to harvest eggplant, tomatoes, long beans, sponge gourds and other vegetables, which he then takes to Laukahi and Inaruwa markets for sale.
Farmers in Sripurjabdi of Koshi Rural Municipality-6 have been commercially cultivating eggplant.
Ward chairperson Judilal Kodukiya said the land became highly fertile for vegetable farming after farmers removed the sand deposited by the flood and resumed cultivation.
According to Kodukiya, eggplant farming has become a major source of income for farmers in Sripurjabdi and surrounding areas.
He said farmers have been encouraged by agricultural technicians who provide guidance on proper cultivation methods, suitable seasons, pest and disease control, market management and agricultural subsidy programmes.
TRN Online
