FARMING IN BIHAR
Farmers in Bihar are being encouraged to increase their income through various initiatives. In the litchi orchards of Bihar, which are prized for their sweet and juicy litchi, now you won’t be surprised to see chickens and goats, because the farmers are also raising chickens and goats on their property. Besides bringing economic benefits to farmers, this will also protect the litchi plants from insects.
NATIONAL RESEARCH CENTRE
The Muzaffarpur National Research Centre on Litchi encourages farmers to raise chickens and goats in their litchi orchards in order to increase their income. According to the Centre, spraying insecticide on the litchi plantation may no longer be necessary in order to prevent damage from small plants and insects. Throughout the litchi garden, there is always a variety of small plants growing that will be a fodder for goats. The insects growing in litchi orchards will also become a source of food for all the chickens. It is also being used in horticulture inside the National Research Centre for Litchi, which works continuously in the interest of farmers, by rearing expensive and simple varieties of chicken.
DR. S.P PANDEY STATEMENT
Dr. S. D. Pandey, director of the center, told IANS that litchi farmers take one sort of litchi and then wait a lot for the next. In this sense, we are our farmers. Another method to increase farmers’ incomes has been identified, which has been adopted by farmers from Muzaffarpur, Motihari, Samastipur and other districts as well. As a result, they have also started earning good income .It was explained that the small producers of litchi don’t get much revenue from litchi, often feeling discouraged due to non-compliance with the season. Depending on their budget, litchi growers can raise goats or poultry in their gardens.He added that The beet from chickens and goats is also beneficial to Litchi trees. Likewise, it can also be traded in a big way if farmers start rearing chicken and goat on a large scale. According to him, fodder for rearing chickens will also be readily available in the garden. The farmers will be able to earn more profit by doing this at less cost.The center’s advice has now made it possible for farmers to easily raise goats and roosters in the gardens of famous litchi farmers in Muzaffarpur.
SHAHI LITCHI OF BIHAR
Shahi Litchi is renowned throughout the country and abroad as well. Litchi has been introduced to the United Kingdom this year. The GI tag was given to Shahi Litchi. There are royal litchi orchards in many districts including Muzaffarpur, Vaishali, Samastipur, East Champaran, Begusarai of Bihar, but the highest production of litchi is in Muzaffarpur.
Keeping these indigenous chickens open in the litchi plantation has reduced the use of fertilizers and pesticides in the gardens by more than half. Litchi’s quality and size are also increasing as a result. Using this technique, organic litchi can now be produced, say researchers at the National Litchi Research Center .The cost of rearing indigenous chickens on litchi plantations is halved if viewed from the point of view of farming them. In the open space, chickens can live in a natural environment where they can grow rapidly. The birds also feed on the pests that are found in litchi trees and the rotten fruit of litchi trees.