Paddy Plantation Gains Momentum

Even when Nepal is reeling from a scarcity of chemical fertilisers and irrigation facilities, paddy plantation seems to be going on across the nation. Paddy is a principal crop that contributes about 7 per cent to the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) while the entire agriculture sector’s contribution to GDP stands at about 24 per cent. With a considerable amount of land suitable for paddy plantation, the country could grow lots of rice. For this, fertilisers are required to be made available in time. But a shortage of fertilisers appears to have been a recurrent problem facing the nation every year. This naturally hinders the growth of the agriculture sector, which is the mainstay of the national economy. Since most of farmers nationwide are dependent for paddy cultivation on monsoon rains, erratic rains recorded this year have delayed plantation. 

A lack of adequate irrigation facilities has been another obstacle to the nation’s agricultural development. It is sad to note that Nepal, once a food-exporting nation, now imports a huge quantity of food items from different parts of the world, spending much foreign currency. According to a news report published in this daily on Saturday, paddy plantation has been completed in more than a half of the total paddy cultivation area. As of July 12, paddy has been planted in 54.13 per cent of the total land suitable for this crop species.  In several parts of the nation, paddy plantation was delayed owing to lack of fertilisers as well as poor monsoon rains. However, the Weather Forecasting Division had predicted that the country could record more than average rains this summer. 

The statistics maintained by the Department of Agriculture under the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development show that paddy plantation has been over in about 814,350 hectares of paddy field. It is notable that the area where paddy is cultivated has increased this year as compared to the past. Sudurpashchim Province is ahead in planting paddy in the largest area -- 155,878 hectares of land – which is 87.49 per cent of total paddy field. It is followed by Bagmati, Gandaki, Karnali, Lumbini,  Province-1 and Madhes Province. Until last year, farmers used to plant paddy in about 1.371 million hectares of land while this crop is cultivated in 1.504 million hectares across the country. The increase in the areas of paddy plantation has been attributed to the incentives that the local bodies provided to the farmers. Likewise, federal and provincial governments have also asked farmers not to leave their land barren.

Despite being an agrarian nation, Nepal has been unable to cater basic inputs necessary for scientific and commercial farming. The sector often faces the shortage of reliable irrigation, fertilisers, workforce and improved seeds. Farmers must be incentivised so that they can produce in sufficient amount as well as in competitive price. In order to achieve self-reliance in agro products, the state must give priority to the agriculture sector that has been a vital source of livelihoods for a large portion of populace. To ensure food security to people, the country needs to produce the required amount of food. This will also help reduce imports, thus saving the foreign reserves and cutting the widening trade deficit. The three-tier government should coordinate with one another for a smooth supply of fertilisers, seeds and advanced implements for the purpose.