The Maoist-hit Tetariya block of East Champaran district, around 200km north of Patna, is witnessing a major change on the ground — literally.

Sahabhagi, a new variety of paddy, has been helping farmers improve their economic condition and avoid Naxalite interference in their lives. Rajendra Agriculture University (RAU), Pusa, has taken the initiative to help tillers cultivate the new variety of rice crop. Non-government organisation Jan Nirman Kendra, led by Rakesh Kumar Singh, too, is working hard to improve the lot of farmers with the help of the agriculture university. Nearly two years ago, J.P. Singh, a senior agriculture scientist of RAU, visited several villages of the block and convinced the residents to optimise the use of agricultural land with the help of scientific farming.

Last year, around 50 farmers of Maniarpur, Narha and Meghua have been cultivating the paddy after Singh encouraged them to do so. At present, the number of tillers cultivating Sahabhagi has swollen to 260 and many more are willing to join them to reap the benefits of the paddy variety using scientific means.

“We are getting yield of around 45 to 50 quintals per hectare after using the new variety. Earlier, productivity used to hover between 20 and 25 quintals with old variety of seeds,” said Ram Bahadur Sahni a farmer of Maniapur village.

Basudeo Sah, another villager, said the economic prosperity was helping residents avoid the influence of Maoists for whom poverty-stricken people provide a ready ground to widen their support base.

Rice scientist U.S. Singh, who is stationed in New Delhi at present, launched this programme in India. He has been assigned to coordinate the project in South Asia. He told The Telegraph over phone: “We are quite serious about promoting the Sahabhagi variety of paddy.”