BIHARSHARIF: Nalanda is emerging as an export hub of organic vegetables and other agricultural products in the state. The farmers of Nalanda district are not only getting handsome yields by using latest technologies but have also started finding overseas markets for their products, said Rakesh Kumar of Sohdih who recently broke the world record by producing 660 quintal onions per hectare. The previous record of highest yield of onion was 550 quintals per hectare held by a farmer in the Netherlands.
Rakesh said that he, along with 200 other farmers of Sohdih, uses organic and bio-fertilizers in their farms spread over more than 200 hectares and they are certified by a French company, Ecocert, which constantly monitors the kind of fertilizers used in the farms and then issues certificates. The reliability of the use of vermi composts and organic fertilizers is such that they recently received query regarding supply of 500 metric tonnes of potatoes to Saudi Arabia. He said the turnaround happened because of the use of latest technology, proper training and the use of traditional manures. The farmers of the locality exported bitter gourd (karela) and onions to countries like Bangladesh and Nepal and organic vegetables grown are regularly exported to different states of the country, he said.
The moving force behind the achievements of the farmers of the district is their adaptability to the new changes, said Nalanda DM Sanjay Kumar Agarwal.
He said that at a time when the farmers of other districts were reluctant to use the system of root intensification (SRI), the farmers of the district braced it wholeheartedly and, within three years of its implementation, a farmer from village Darveshpura in the district, Sumant Kumar, broke the previous world record in paddy yield.
Maya Devi of Ondi panchayat in the district was among the first farmers to adopt the new technology and the encouraging result she got became a torchbearer for other farmers of the district and hundreds of farmers followed her. The overall paddy yield was so strong that the state food corporation (SFC) procured more paddy than its target and the stock is sufficient to meet PDS requirements of three neighbouring districts for the next 7-8 months. Today, organic vegetables are grown on more than 500 hectares and they are being exported to different states, said district horticulture officer (DHO) D Mahto.
Besides outstanding success of farmers, the district also became the fourth in the country and the only district in Bihar to receive national award for the implementation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) for the year 2010-11. Nalanda recently achieved the distinction of being the first district of the state to be declared fully e-governed district of Bihar.
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