Dry spell bodes ill for crop yield in Rukum

By Our Correspondent,Rukum East, Jan. 14: Gana Bahadur Budha of Bhume Rural Municipality-2 has already started to worry about a famine this year. He is worried about the reduction in production of winter crops, including wheat and barley, due to lack of rain and snow.

Budha said that even after completion of the second week of January, wheat, barley and vegetable crops started to dry up due to lack of rain and snow.

He, who is waiting for winter rains and snowfall, said that if the weather in the district remains the same, crop yield will be affected in the mountain. He said, “Last year, at the beginning of December, the yard was covered with snow. Now, no snow has been seen until mid-January.”

“The drought has made it dry. Drought has also caused extreme cold,” he said. It has not rained since last October. Locals are worried because barley, wheat crops and even garden vegetables have started to dry due to the long drought.

Udaya Ram Roka of Putha Uttarganga Rural Municipality-5 said that neither rain nor snow has been experienced for a long time. Until two to four years ago, snow used to cover villages and hills in the month of December. He said that there was no snow or rain until the second week of January. Roka said that fruits and cereals don’t grow until it snows.

Farmers said that due to the dry spell, barley and wheat sown in fields in October-November have not sprouted yet. 

Since there is no rain from October to January, the water sources have also started drying up. Even the locals who are fully dependent on herbs in the high mountain settlements are still waiting for the snowfall.

Locals have experienced that herb production also declines in years without heavy snow. Dambar Budha of Sisne Rural Municipality-1 said that Yarsagumba, Katuki Bholte, Chiraito, and Gucci mushrooms grow well in the year when there is a lot of snow.

Budha said, “In the year when there is snow, the production of herbs increases along with grain crops, but in the year when there is no snow, the production declines.”