Prolonged dry weather has severely disrupted paddy transplantation in Ramechhap, with only 30 percent of cultivable fields planted so far as streams dry up and farmers struggle with an acute shortage of irrigation water.
RAMECHHAP, JULY 8
Only around 30 percent of paddy fields in Ramechhap have been transplanted so far due to a prolonged dry spell that has left irrigation sources depleted during the peak planting season.
According to the Agriculture Development Office, paddy transplantation should have been completed in more than half of the district's fields by this time of the season. However, insufficient rainfall and drying rivers have delayed cultivation across major rice-producing areas.
Office chief Pramod Dahal said the lack of rainfall has prevented farmers from carrying out transplantation, while in some places they have not even been able to prepare paddy nurseries.
Farmers say rivers that usually provide irrigation during the planting season have dried up after weeks of little or no rain. Masini Sarki, a farmer from Sunarpani, said farmers traditionally rely on increased river flow following rainfall in upstream areas, but this year even the headwaters have remained dry.
The situation is equally grim in Manthali, where transplantation has yet to begin in the flatlands beside the Sukajor River. Farmer Shyam Roka said the lack of water in the river has halted planting, adding that many fields in the area have repeatedly remained uncultivated because of recurring water shortages.
Farmers in the Sukajor plains say they have been unable to cultivate all their paddy fields for the past nine consecutive years due to inadequate irrigation.
Most rain-fed hillside farms across the district also remain unplanted, with farmers waiting for sufficient monsoon rainfall before beginning transplantation.