Bagmati Diara: Farmers Transform Sand into Green Fields, Cultivating Hope

• Farmers in Sheohar-Sitamarhi districts are successfully cultivating vegetables like cucumbers, gourds, and watermelons on sandy land in the Bagmati Diara region, previously deemed unsuitable for farming.
• This innovative technique involves digging channels in the sand, filling pits with compost and fertile soil, and then sowing seeds, a method learned from Uttar Pradesh farmers in 2003-04.
• Despite the risk of crops being washed away by sudden floods, farmers lease this sandy land and demonstrate its fertility through their hard work, supplying produce to various markets.
• The cultivation provides livelihood for hundreds of families who do not own traditional cultivable land.
• Farmers receive no government assistance, training, or financial aid for this unique farming method and believe government support could scale up this model, benefiting thousands.

Why It Matters: Farmers in Bagmati Diara are turning sandy floodplains into productive farms using innovative techniques.