Plunge of more than 13 percentage points compared to last fiscal
KATHMANDU, JULY 31
Paddy plantation this season has been completed on 77 per cent or 1.05 million hectares of arable land used for paddy plantation across the country as of July 28, 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 13 percentage points. As per MoALD, paddy plantation had been completed on 90 per cent of arable land in the same period of the previous fiscal.
As per the MoALD, the decrease in paddy plantation, especially in Madhesh Province, Bagmati Province, and Gandaki Province, can be attributed to the delayed onset of monsoon. 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 monsoon becomes more active, and efforts are being made to ensure availability of chemical fertilisers.
As per the report compiled by MoALD, paddy plantation has been completed on 99 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 59 per cent of arable land or 209,086 hectares in Madhesh Province, which is the lowest among the provinces.
Likewise, in Bagmati Province and Gandaki Province, paddy plantation has been completed on 81,420 hectares and 85,790 hectares of land, respectively.
The data further show that paddy plantation in Lumbini Province has been completed on 243,318 hectares of land during review period.
Meanwhile, paddy plantation has been completed on 32,918 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 August 1, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
