Motihari: The Horticulture Department of Motihari has left no stone unturned in the promotion of horticultural crops in the region. The department’s initiative, Gaon Ki Bagwani, Hamare Gaurav Ki Kahani, has been encouraging farmers to adopt horticulture instead of traditional crops. District Magistrate Saurabh Jorwal recently saw the papaya farming at Parolia village in the Piprakothi block.
The department has been enticing Motihari farmers to go for papaya farming because the state government is set to provide a subsidy to farmers. During the visit, DM Jorwal talked with farmers who are cultivating the Red Lady Taiwan 786 variety of papaya with the help of the department. Many farmers said that they started farming after getting guidance from the experts of the Horticulture Department. The department helped them a lot and fetched them up to Rs 10 lakh per acre.
Overall, 17 men and women from the village are working in a 25-acre horticulture cluster. Each farmer gets a subsidy of Rs 1 lakh per acre for planting material, drip irrigation, and fencing. The aim of the cluster is to boost yield as well as farmers’ incomes. Seeing the success rate, farmers from outside districts of Motihari are visiting the sites to know about the proper way of papaya farming from the Horticulture Department.
Besides DM Motihari, several other top officials of the district, including agricultural officers, horticulture officials, technical managers, and agricultural coordinators, visited the site and shared their views about the implementation and support of the scheme. This initiative will definitely boost the farmers’ livelihoods and encourage sustainable horticulture practices in Motihari as well.
