Patna: The Banka district administration is promoting cultivation of lemongrass in order to encourage farmers to use around 42,000 acres of cultivable barren land in Banka district.

The district administration is linking farmers to firms which provide lemongrass slips to landowners without any upfront cost and buying back the product directly from the field, freeing the farmers from the worry of marketing their product.

The farmers are supposed to pay back the slips in easy instalments from the earning they make by selling the product.

"For now we have restricted cultivation to 100 acres in order to study the outcome of the model," Banka district magistrate Kundan Kumar told The Telegraph. "From next year more such land would be brought under lemongrass cultivation." He said the goal of this move was to ensure farmers get good income from plots that were lying unused for years.

Prior to the launch, a detailed plan was chalked out and companies willing to purchase lemongrass were contacted. Once the idea concretised, the farmers were made aware of the plan after which many of them come forward to be part of the initiative.

One such farmer is Rajesh Kumar Singh of Jamua village in Katoria block of the district. He recently harvested the first lot of lemongrass crop, which was procured by the firm with which agreements had been made.

"I have cultivated lemongrass on three acres and harvesting was carried out on two acres, giving a produce of six quintals. The representative of the company, which provided the slips, came and procured the grass directly from the field," Rajesh told The Telegraph over phone.