DHORPATAN, DECEMBER 17
Baglung has 46,148 hectares of arable land but only 30,523 hectare land is cultivated. Of that also, only 6,148 hectare has easy access to irrigation.
Irrigation facilities have reached only 20.15 per cent of the arable land. Furthermore, the area irrigated round the year is 2,775 hectares.
In the current fiscal, 137 schemes are being implemented in the district from the Water Resources and Irrigation Development Division Office, Baglung. This year, the central government has allocated a budget of Rs 75.7 million and the province government Rs 116.7 million to manage irrigation facility in all ten municipalities of the district.
Acting Division Head of the Office Jhakalman Ojha said it was difficult to manage irrigation in all areas as most of the areas in the district are located on the slopes of hills.
We have been able to irrigate only 20 per cent of the arable land in Baglung.
He said the demand for irrigation schemes in Baglung had increased and although the office aimed to provide access to irrigation, schemes have been implemented in fields where paddy and wheat are cultivated.
With increasing access to irrigation, paddy cultivation has also increased. Last year, paddy was planted on 5,800 hectares, while it was planted in more than 6,000 hectares this year. As a result, paddy production has also increased.
According to Agriculture Knowledge Centre, last year the district produced 18,354 metric tonnes of paddy while 18,690 metric tonnes was produced this year.
A version of this article appears in the print on December 18, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
