Sheohar Bagmati Flood Waterlogging Smallholder Agriculture

Sheohar, Bihar's smallest district, lies in the Bagmati river floodplain near the Nepal border and is one of the state's most flood-prone and waterlogged districts, where annual inundation from Nepal's Himalayan catchment destroys crops in 40-60 percent of kharif years. The district's smallholder farmers grow paddy in waterlogged depressions (chaur) using flood-tolerant varieties like Swarna Sub1 developed for submergence conditions, and plant rabi vegetables and mustard on elevated land after flood recession. Sheohar's Musahar tribal community — among Bihar's most marginalised — traditionally harvested field rats (chuha) during post-harvest gleaning as a protein source; the community is the focus of development interventions under the Tola Sevak outreach programme.