KATHMANDU, JULY 13

Paddy plantation has been completed on 60 per cent of arable land across the country as of July 6.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (MoALD), last year only around 24 per cent of paddy plantation had been completed during the same period.

“While paddy plantation had been affected due to late monsoon last year, the favourable weather is expected to increase harvest this year,” said Hari Bahadur KC, spokesperson for MoALD.

Paddy planted till July 6

Province

Total arable land

Planted area

1

275,901

142,203

2

365,615

183,607

Bagmati

115,295

59,981

Gandaki

115,295

61,166

5

303,593

229,145

Karnali

38,385

30,611

Sudurpaschim

164,639

124,896

Total

1,371,706

831,609

Area in hectares; Source: DoA

“We expect paddy plantation to be carried out on 98 per cent of arable land this year,” he said, “If the weather continues to be favourable this year, both the plantation area and production are expected to rise significantly.”

Paddy plantation had been carried out on around 1.4 million hectares of land last year. The highest record till date is of 2016, when paddy was planted on 1.5 million hectares of land.

The government expects paddy production to increase by at least five to seven per cent this year. Last year, farmers had managed to yield 5.55 million tonnes of paddy.

As per the Department of Agriculture (DoA), paddy plantation has been completed on 79 per cent of arable land in Karnali Province, while it has been completed on around 75 per cent of cultivable land in Sudurpaschim Province and Province 5. Similarly, plantation has been carried out on 56 per cent of land in Gandaki Province, 52 per cent in Bagmati Province, 50 per cent in Province 2 and 51 per cent in Province 1. The MoALD expects plantation to cover 90 per cent of arable land in the next 10 days.

“Due to ample rainfall, paddy plantation started on time in the Tarai region this year,” KC added.

“Enough manpower and favourable weather are the reasons for timely and increased plantation,” he said, adding, “Moreover, a few local governments have also offered some subsidies to farmers who plant paddy on barren land because of which the plantation area has gone up this year.”

The government’s policy of not letting any fertile land to remain barren has also boosted plantation, he added.

While floods and landslides have been making the headlines in recent days, no major damage to the crops and vegetables has been reported so far, he claimed.

“Although the recent floods and landslides have damaged dozens of houses, killed people and a few have gone missing, the agriculture sector has largely remained unscathed till date,” he said. “It has been reported that a few vegetable fields in Udayapur, among other districts, have been affected slightly but no significant damage has been reported yet.”

A version of this article appears in e-paper on July 14, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.