Local responses to too much and too little water in the greater Himalayan region
fields. It is a nutritious non-cereal food commonly Migration and remittances – Off-farm seasonal
used in the preparation of sweets and other recipes. migration has always been a livelihood option for
Its cultivation requires standing water (maximum one people living in the floodplains, especially those who
metre deep), the right soil type, and favourable climatic are resource-poor. It has increased since the construction
conditions. Large areas of waterlogged land and other of the embankment has increased stresses caused by
water bodies in the Koshi basin are now under this floods and droughts and changed the agro-ecology.
crop. With the decline in fish stock, the Mallah fishing The disruptions to agriculture have forced both landed
community depends on this crop for its livelihood. and landless labourers to seek employment outside their
The crop is demanding to cultivate but commands a villages.
good price in the market. The growing demand for
makhana is evident from the increased number of private For example, in Chandrain, Tilathi, and Dhamara
companies cultivating it commercially. villages, about 80% of adult males migrate during the
non-agricultural season. Most leave their villages at the
On land within the embankments, sand deposition poses end of May or beginning of June after they complete
a serious problem. Here, several Muslim vegetable the hot season farm activities. They return when the land
farmers lease these lands for vegetable farming. Some is ready for cultivation, either in the beginning of the
sand-covered land is good for vegetable farming, cool, dry season (early November) or the hot season
especially for the cucurbit family of plants. Vegetable (February). While the men are away, women, children,
farming is widespread in Rahuamani due to its proximity and old men do not have much farm work except for
to markets in Saharsa. New, high-yielding vegetable labour on some government-sponsored rural schemes.
varieties have increased the profitability of vegetable With improvements in transport and communication,
farming and helped landless Muslims improve their lives. finding work in far-off places has become easier. Each
household has its own social network which refers them
Better cultivation methods and techniques – Farmers to outside work opportunities.
have developed practices to reduce the degradation of
land or soil fertility even though the land available for Access to loans – Although the traditional money-
intensive cultivation is already declining and the time lending castes do not operate in this region, people in
period available for cultivation is short. They use mixed the village who are relatively better-off provide small
cropping and rotational cropping to maximise crop yield loans without collateral, but at high interest rates.
yet keep the soil fertile. Common practices are to mix Work migrants often need this small cash to cover the
the cropping of maize with summer rice and maize with cost of their travel and the upkeep of the family they
lentils and/or millet. In many places, farmers use the leave behind. Small farmers also need petty cash to
field bunds to grow teak trees or manajera
1
plants. They buy seeds and fertilisers before the planting season.
also use the same water body for water lily cultivation Local shopkeepers sometimes provide goods on
and fish farming. Manajera and lentils, apart from their credit and charge interest for deferred payment. With
other uses, are nitrogen-fixing plants sown especially to improvements in rural banking, workers can more easily
reclaim soil fertility. send remittances to families.
Animal husbandry – In most areas of Bihar, farmers Overall, migration has been a very important adaptation
have decreased cattle rearing or changed the cattle strategy to adapt to the changing nature of hazard
breed because the spread of waterlogging has reduced and stress in the basin. It is expected that migration
common grazing land. Meanwhile, the rearing of small will increase further with growing population pressure
ruminants, mostly goats, has increased especially among on land resources and more employment opportunities
poorer castes and classes, such as the Musahars and in economic growth centres in other parts of India.
Muslims. Goats are easier to manage and feed even However, the introduction of employment guarantee
during floods. A practice similar to sharecropping, share schemes in rural India could lessen dependence of
rearing of goats is widespread in the region. Goats temporary migratory work.
command a good price in the market – an adult year-
old male goat can be sold locally for Rs1500.
1
Manajera is a kind of shrub that helps in nitrogen fixing and
reclaiming soil fertility. It generally grows along the boundary of the
agricultural fields and is often used as fuel during floods and prolonged
waterlogging.
38
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76