Leaders reach Chitwan to observe National Paddy Day

By Shaligram Nepal,Chitwan, July 1: On the occasion of National Paddy Day, a few top political leaders arrived in Chitwan to participate in the paddy plantation programmes on Friday. 

Chairman of CPN-UML and former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, Chairman of Nepal Samajbadi Party former Prime Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai and Chairman of Rastriya Swatantra Party Rabi Lamichhane participated in the paddy plantation programmes organised here on the occasion of the 20th National Paddy Day and Paddy Plantation Festival.

Speaking on the occasion in Bharatpur, Chairman Oli said that the country would move towards prosperity only if it became self-reliant in food grains.

He said that the agricultural sector should be developed commercially and the attraction of youth to agriculture should be increased.

“If the country is made self-sufficient in food, other sectors will also develop. Agricultural production should be increased as other sectors are also connected with food crops,” he said.

“The main food crop is paddy, its production is no longer possible through traditional methods, so, it is necessary to double its production. Therefore, to produce more, advanced seeds and technologies should be used,” he said.

He said that even though Nepal is an agricultural country, the number of people who are engaged in agriculture is decreasing every year, so it is necessary to attract the youth to this occupation.

He emphasised that the government should introduce a programme to ensure that youths who go abroad can earn good income from agriculture in the country.

Chairman Oli, former minister Parbat Gurung, Oli’s wife Radhika Shakya and others planted paddy in Jagatpur, West Chitwan.

Plantation at 15% in Chitwan

Around 15 per cent of paddy plantation has been completed in Chitwan so far.

Min Bahadur Pun, acting chief of the Agricultural Knowledge Centre, Chitwan, informed that paddy plantation was delayed this year due to drought.

Paddy plantation is now less than last year as plantation activity started only a few days ago, he said.

The plantation has not yet started in all places of the district for lack of rain. 

Pun informed that only the farmers who have canals, generators and their own water sources to irrigate their farms are now planting paddy.

According to the Centre, seasonal and Chaite rice are being cultivated in an area of 30,000 hectares every year. Due to the fragmentation of arable land, the area of paddy cultivation is decreasing every year.

Dhan Bahadur Thapa, Chief and Senior Agricultural Officer of the Prime Minister Agriculture Modernisation Project, Project Implementation Unit, Chitwan, said that 130 varieties of rice, including hybrids, are planted in Nepal.

Thapa said that after the introduction of technology in agriculture, productivity has increased.