Bokaro Upland Paddy Tribal Munda Oraon Farming

Outside Bokaro city, the district's Munda and Oraon tribal villages practice upland rainfed paddy cultivation on gently sloping laterite plateau fields, growing traditional varieties including Jeera, Mansuri, and local red rice that are adapted to the high rainfall but poor water-holding capacity of the Jharkhand plateau soils. Bokaro tribal farmers supplement paddy with maize, millets, and pulses in intercropped kitchen gardens adjacent to their thatched households, maintaining a diverse food system that provides nutrition security even when monsoon paddy fails. The Jharkhand State Tribal Research Institute documents Bokaro's traditional varieties in its tribal seed bank.