https://indianmasterminds.com

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

‘Darjeeling of Bihar’, Hope for A Struggling Tea Industry 

Indian Masterminds Stories

Flanked by West Bengal on one side and Nepal on the other, Kishanganj is the only tea producing district of Bihar. Despite being blessed with an ideal climate and a suitable topography for tea plant, it has not received much attention when it comes to tea production. While tea cultivation was first started here in a half hectare land in 1982, yet, for many years, no major development took place. 

However, in the last 10 years, the cultivable area of tea crop has increased from 7 to 8 thousand hectares and Kishanganj has become one of the major producers of tea in the country, and is now known as the ‘Darjeeling of Bihar’. 

Not only tea, the district is also paving way for the cultivation of various other cash crops that includes dragon fruit. In conversation with Indian Masterminds, DM of Kishanganj, Mr. Tushar Singla, gave more details about the ongoing agri projects. 

EDGE IN TRADING 

“Kishanganj district has a suitable location and appropriate weather conditions for growing cash crops like tea, dragon fruit, etc. Especially blocks like Thakurganj and Pothia have large areas covered under tea cultivation which has improved the living condition of thousands of farmers,” he said.

Not only the weather conditions, the district is also supported by close proximity to major trading corridors. There are around five thousand farmers who are directly involved in tea plantation. 

Tushar Singla, IAS

Whereas the cultivation of dragon fruit is still at nascent stage in the district. Currently, few farmers are involved in cultivation of this fruit but there is a huge scope for increasing its cultivable area. The dragon fruit farming started in 2014, when a farmer bought 500 saplings from Singapore. He started with 100 of these and his experiment was successful. Now, not only the dragon fruit farming has expanded to more than 12 hectares in the district but slowly the farmers of adjacent district like Purnea and Araria have also taken interest in it. 

“There is immense potential to further enhance the cultivation area of crops like these and livelihood opportunity for the people residing in the district,” said Mr. Singla.

MAJOR CHALLENGE 

About the challenges in convincing new farmers to take up tea and dragon fruit farming, he said that farming for a particular crop is an economic decision depending on backward and forward linkages. “If those are available smoothly, then half the job is done,” he added.

Since there are major tea growing areas nearby and a ready market, the farmers of Kishanganj district have adapted to these conditions and have taken up the cultivation of these crops at a large scale. However, there is more scope for enhancement of productivity and the cultivable area for such crops.

SUBSIDIES & ASSISTANCE

The Kishanganj administration is providing support and hand-holding the farmers. Backward linkage inputs like fertilizers, agricultural equipments, etc., are now being provided for expansion of the cultivable area. Also, the focus is on integrating the farmers with the packaging and marketing infrastructure.

In last 10 years, the cultivable area of tea crop has increased from 7 to 8 thousand hectares. Now efforts are being made to exponentially expand the tea area and make it double in 2-3 years with the required support from the agriculture department. “Subsidies are also being provided to the farmers, and so is assistance to sell their produce,” Mr. Singla added.


Indian Masterminds Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Related Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
NEWS
India’s Missile Strikes on 11 Pakistani Airbases Forced Islamabad Into Panic: Ex-UK Envoy Reveals Secret Saudi Defense Pact
India’s Missile Strikes on 11 Pakistani Airbases Forced Islamabad Into Panic: Ex-UK Envoy Reveals Secret Saudi Defense Pact
Devendra Kumar Tiwari Alka Tiwari  IAS Jharkhand
First IAS Couple in India to Hold Both Chief Secretary & State Election Commissioner Posts Consecutively - Know This Powerful Pair
Policing, Trust, and Investment: Insights from IPF - Indian Masterminds
Indian Police Foundation Marks 10 Years, Discussion on How Policing Builds Investor Confidence
Madhya Pradesh football training
Mini Brazil to Germany: Vicharpur’s Young Footballers Get CM Mohan Yadav’s Blessings on Vijayadashami Week
bureaucracy news
Centre Announces Key Bureaucratic Appointments & Deputation Extensions: Neeraj Surendran, Arun G, Anand Mohan Among Key Names
PM Modi CM Nitish Kumar
Bihar Receives Rs. 10,219 Crore from Centre: A Festive Gift On Vijayadashami to Fuel Development & Welfare, Backed by GST Reforms
Chhattisgarh government
Chhattisgarh CM Charts Development Roadmap: Push for Capital Expenditure, Biometric Attendance, & Transparent Governance
Vishnu Deo Sai CM
Chhattisgarh Gets Rs. 3,462 Crore Boost from Modi Government: Here's How CM Sai Pledges To Spend It!
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
IFS Ravikant Meena UPSC IFS
Ravikant Meena on IFS Preparation, Optionals, and Life in Forest Service
Siddhartha Saxena UPSC CAPF
How Siddhartha Saxena Cracked UPSC CAPF AIR 326 Against All Odds
Dr. S.K
Technology Meets Ecology: IFS Dr S K Srivastava’s Game-Changing Innovations in Forest Management | Eco Warrior Awards 2025 Interview
ADVERTISEMENT
UPSC Stories
UPSC Chairman Ajay Kumar Live Interaction
From Cut-off Dates to Coaching & Reforms: UPSC Chairman Ajay Kumar Assures Aspirants of Fairness, Transparency & a Future-Ready UPSC | UPSC@100
A Century of Service: The UPSC’s Landmark Year Begins. Chairman Ajay Kumar on UPSC’s Centennial: “Merit,...
Giriraj Parihar MPPSC 2024
From Constable to Deputy Collector: Giriraj Parihar’s 9-Year MPPSC Journey | Farmer’s Son, Brother to Five Sisters
From a jail guard to MPPSC 2024 Rank 8, Giriraj Parihar’s nine-year journey of self-study, hard work,...
Ankit MPPSC 2024 Rank 3
From Village Dreams to Deputy Collector’s Chair: Meet Ankit, MPPSC Rank 3 Hindi Medium Topper
Ankit, a Hindi-medium aspirant from Balaghat, secured Rank 3 in MPPSC 2024 and became Deputy Collector...
Social Media
World Rhino Day India
On World Rhino Day, IFS Officer Parveen Kaswan Shares Rare Insights - India Now Hosts 80% of the World’s One-Horned Rhinos
September 22 Marks Global Call for Rhino Conservation; India Holds 80% of World’s Greater One-Horned...
Parag Madhukar Dhakate
Relentless Rains Wreak Havoc in Dehradun: IFS officer PM Dhakate Warns Citizens Amid Flash Floods
Cloudbursts in Dehradun triggered flash floods. IFS officer Dr. PM Dhakate warned citizens to stay indoors...
Forest Guard Tiger Encounter
Tigers Clash in the Wild as Forest Guards Capture Rare Footage , Retired IFS Mohan Pargaien Posts Viral Video
Retired IFS officer Mohan Pargaien shares viral video of three tigers brawling in Ramnagar, as forest...
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Latest
India’s Missile Strikes on 11 Pakistani Airbases Forced Islamabad Into Panic: Ex-UK Envoy Reveals Secret Saudi Defense Pact
India’s Missile Strikes on 11 Pakistani Airbases Forced Islamabad Into Panic: Ex-UK Envoy Reveals Secret Saudi Defense Pact
Devendra Kumar Tiwari Alka Tiwari  IAS Jharkhand
First IAS Couple in India to Hold Both Chief Secretary & State Election Commissioner Posts Consecutively - Know This Powerful Pair
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
IFS Ravikant Meena UPSC IFS
Siddhartha Saxena UPSC CAPF
Dr. S.K
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT