KATHMANDU, JULY 21
Paddy plantation this season has been completed on 68 per cent or 927, 233 hectares of arable land used for paddy plantation across the country, according to the latest update provided by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (MoALD) today.
Compared to the same period of last fiscal, this is a plunge by more than 20 percentage points. As per MoALD, paddy plantation had been completed on 88 per cent of arable land in the same period of the previous fiscal.
As per the MoALD, the decrease in rice planting, especially in Madhesh Province, Bagmati Province, and Gandaki Province, can be attributed to the delayed onset of monsoon.
In Karnali Province, the impact of lumpy skin disease in cattle has slightly affected the planting process. However, in Sudurpaschim Province, the planting activities have almost been completed successfully.
The ministry currently anticipates that the percentage of paddy planting will gradually increase as the monsoon becomes more active, efforts are made to ensure availability of chemical fertilisers, and measures are taken to mitigate the impact of lumpy skin disease.
As per the report compiled by the MoALD, paddy plantation has been completed on 98 per cent of arable land or 168,046 hectares in Sudurpaschim Province - the highest among all the provinces.
Surprisingly plantation has been carried out on only 46 per cent of arable land or 163,016 hectares in Madhes Province, which is the lowest among the provinces.
Likewise, in Bagmati Province and Gandaki Province, paddy plantation has been completed on 73,504 hectares and 170,097 hectares of land, respectively.
The data further show that paddy plantation in Lumbini Province has been completed on 222,290 hectares of land during review period.
Meanwhile, paddy plantation has been completed on 29,433 hectares in Karnali Province so far this year.
Paddy production alone has over 20 per cent contribution to the total agricultural production of Nepal, while the agriculture sector has around 25 per cent contribution to the national gross domestic product.
A version of this article appears in the print on July 22, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
