National Paddy Day to be marked on Saturday

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, June 28:The 21st National Paddy Day and Paddy Planting Festival is being marked across the nation on Saturday. 

The day is observed on the 15th day of the Nepali month of Asar every year to mark the arrival of the paddy cultivation season. Asar 15 is also celebrated as a day to savour curd and beaten rice.  

Nepal started celebrating Asar 15 as National Paddy Day from 2005 as per a minister-level decision taken on December 14, 2004. This year’s slogan of National Paddy Day is "Climate resilient farming, increase in paddy production”.

This year's slogan has given the message that farmers and other related parties should be alert and aware to reduce the increasing negative impact on rice cultivation by climate change, research and development of climate adapted technologies and dissemination of available technologies to adopt them and increase rice production and productivity, according to the Department of Agriculture under the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development.

According to the Department, at the central level, there is a programme to celebrate National Paddy Day and Paddy Planting Festival on June 29 at Bachhuli in Chitwan in the presence of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’.

Similarly, various other programmes will be conducted in provincial and local levels to encourage farmers to use climate-resilient technology for increasing rice production.

As climate change has emerged as a formidable challenge to paddy plantation and its productivity, the Department has chosen the slogan to promote climate-friendly techniques to increase production for the past two years.

9.8 per cent plantation complete  

According to the Department, paddy plantation has completed in around 9.8 per cent of the country’s total paddy field so far. 

The paddy has been planted in 9.8 per cent (136,411 hectares) of the total paddy field (1.398 million hectares) across the country, increase by 1 per cent from 8.7 per cent last year. 

According to the Department, paddy has been planted in 25 per cent (43,634 hectares) of the total paddy field in Sudurpashchim Province, 23.9 per cent (10,010 hectares) in Karnali Province, 18.3 per cent (20,550 hectares) in Bagmati Province and 8.8 per cent (27,570 hectares) in Lumbini Province.

Likewise, 8.3 per cent (8,247 hectares) paddy plantation has been completed in Gandaki Province and 5.6 per cent (15,360 hectares) in Koshi Province and 2.9 per cent (11,040 hectares) in Madhes Province.  

The country has a total cultivable land area of 3.55 million hectares. Approximately, 50 per cent of the arable land in Nepal is used for rice cultivation. 

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, rice is grown on 1.43 million hectares of land, with average productivity of 3.98 tonnes per hectare. 

However, rice cultivation and production heavily depend on rainfall due to the lack of irrigation facilities on most of the farms. Unusual rainfall patterns can lead to fluctuations in productivity.

According to the ministry, paddy production increased to 5.724 million tonnes, the highest yield in Nepal, last year. 

About 5.486 million tonnes of paddy was produced in fiscal year 2022/23. Similarly, Nepal had grown 5.621 million tonnes of rice in the fiscal year 2020/21. 

However, the yield fell to 5.13 million tonnes in the last fiscal year 2021/22. Similarly, about 5.55 million tonnes of paddy was produced in the fiscal year 2019/20.