Sugarcane and banana farming in the road side

-Prem Raule

The Agriculture Knowledge Centre Bajura is to use the road side land for production of various agricultural products. The centre has come up with a policy of road security, utilization of land and agro-production.

In the first phase, the 40 kilometer stretch of land from Dakadi Gadha to Martadi in the district will be utilized, said agriculture publicity officer Min Prasad Jaisi. Following a study, banana and sugarcane farming have been identified to be grown there. This will secure the land and also promote greenery in the road side.

The initiative is also expected to help check landslide on the road side. The farming will be carried out in cooperation with people living near the road side. Local farmers group, agriculture cooperatives, and villages will be taken on board to take this programme ahead, said the centre chief Govinda Sijapati.

Growing cash crops like sugarcane and banana on the roadside will also make it easier to sell. This is the first time that such a programme is being implemented in the hilly region of the Sudur Paschim State.

The knowledge centre has been taking up new and farmer-focused initiatives. This initiative is also expected to be a source of learning for other farmers. This will be a lost cost initiative to grow sugarcane and bananas. It aims to create employment and increase the income of the farmers.

The centre will begin with sugarcane farming this year and then add up with banana farming the next year. Meanwhile, the Budhi Ganga and Badimalika municipalities have put up a notice appealing farmers interested to join the project. The last date for the same is January 28.

More than one thousand farmers are expected to be part of this project.