Chaite Dhan cultivation declining

By Our Correspondent,Palpa, Apr. 15: Cultivation of Chaite Dhan (spring paddy) has decreased in Palpa. Until a few years ago, spring paddy used to be cultivated in most of the areas in Palpa, but in the recent years, the practice of cultivating it has decreased, according to Agriculture Knowledge Centre, Palpa.

According to Chief of Agriculture Knowledge Centre Kamana Adhikari, early paddy or spring paddy cultivation has decreased because of the expansion of settlements in the areas where the early paddy used to be grown in the past, drought and lack of irrigation facilities.

The Center said spring paddy was cultivated in an area of 705 hectares two years ago. But this year, it has been cultivated only in 626 hectares of land, said Milan Gaire, information officer at the Centre.

He said that when the area of paddy cultivation decreased, the production would also fall.

According to Gaire, cultivation of spring paddy has gradually been decreased, but the production is still high.

Until a few years ago, early paddy used to be grown in 40 per cent of the total paddy field of Madiphant, but there has been no planting of chaite paddy in the area for the last few years.

Chaite paddy was cultivated in Amlihan, Lalpati, Maidan, Buduwa, Purindhab areas of Madiphant.

Surbir Kumal, a farmer of Lalpati, said that farmers have stopped growing early paddy in the areas. He said, “Practice of transplanting paddy in month of March and April in the Madiphant area has now been a thing of the past.” 

This year, the chaite paddy has been planted only in Rampur, Purbakhola and Hungi, Dhankuna and Nisdi of the district. Chief of the Agriculture Knowledge Centre Adhikari said that paddy cultivation could not be done in most of the remaining areas of the district.

Farmers said that the cultivation of early paddy was decreasing as the farmers do not get fertilisers in time, there is a lack of workers and the production cost has increased.

Man Bahadur Kumal, a farmer of Madi Kaseni, said that the farmers are not interested in cultivating chaite paddy because it is more profitable to buy rice than to cultivate paddy.

He said, “The farmers who cultivate spring paddy are always at loss.”