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Riverbed farming (baluwa/bagarkhetii.e. cultivation in the sand) is the general practice of cultivating crops on the bed or in some cases banks of the river during the low water/dry seasons. This practice dates back to thirty years when mostly Indian nomadic farmers living near the border areas used to come to cultivate the riverbeds which were arable for certain types of crops. Watermelon was the only crops cultivated in the beginning. Although it started under the circumstances where there were no alternative lands for cultivation of crop such as watermelon, the scope has certainly widened greatly. And its utilization in wider scale is a relatively recent phenomenon.
The practice has evolved from being a subsistence livelihood approach to a commercial enterprise among the marginalized, landless and land-poor communities of terai. The key reasons for the expansion of this practice are mainly due to the availability of fertilizers and nutrients and improved agriculture technologies, easy availability of riverbeds, access to transportation and markets. Products from RbF always have access to the market. The emergence and development of haat bazaars have positively impacted rural agriculture in general with no exception for RbF. The yields are either sold by the farmers in these local markets or whole sellers and middlemen come to the farmers’ doorsteps to purchase the yield.
Major crops in RbF
The major crops grown by farmers along the river beds are watermelon (CitrulluslanatusT.), bottle gourd (Lagenariasiceraria), cucumber (CucumisstivusL.), summer squash (CucurbitapepoL.), bitter gourd (Momordicacharantia L.), pumpkin (Cucurbitamoschata D.), pointed gourd (Trichosanthesdioica R.) and sponge gourd (LuffacylindricaR.). Few farmers also grew chilly, beans, tomato and other high-value vegetables on the riverbeds. The choice of crop entirely depends on soil conditions and water availability.
Majority of farmers undertake direct sowing of seeds in the pits. Seed rate used for each species depends on the nature of the plants. Seeds are usually wrapped until germination and sown once they germinate. After sowing the seeds, mulching was done using locally available dry grasses. Sowing of seeds was done between November-December but there has been a slight shirt in the period as monsoon occasionally extends beyond the normal rainy season as riverbed farming depends on the water level in the rivers. However, early sown seeds and resulting seedlings have higher survival chances because they are able to survive the frost and dew during the winter having matured early. Plastic capping has also emerged in the riverbed farming in recent years.
For more information: csrijal@gmail.com
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| Kantipur News dated 17 March, 2015 |
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| Photo: Megh Nath Timalsina, DADO Jhapa |
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| Photo: Megh Nath Timalsina, DADO Jhapa |
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| Photo: Megh Nath Timalsina, DADO Jhapa |
.jpg)
Riverbed farming (baluwa/bagarkhetii.e. cultivation in the sand) is the general practice of cultivating crops on the bed or in some cases banks of the river during the low water/dry seasons. This practice dates back to thirty years when mostly Indian nomadic farmers living near the border areas used to come to cultivate the riverbeds which were arable for certain types of crops. Watermelon was the only crops cultivated in the beginning. Although it started under the circumstances where there were no alternative lands for cultivation of crop such as watermelon, the scope has certainly widened greatly. And its utilization in wider scale is a relatively recent phenomenon. 
