Country reports 38% rice plantation

Kathmandu, July 8: With the monsoon gaining momentum, rice plantations across the country are progressing steadily. As of Sunday, paddy cultivation has reached 38.6 per cent, covering 539,766 hectares of land across all seven provinces.

According to the Department of Agriculture, the highest rice plantation percentage is reported in Sudur Pashchim at 54.2 per cent, while the lowest is in Madhesh at 25.5 per cent while as of July 7, it was 34.4 per cent in Koshi, 40.2 per cent in Bagmati, 49.7 per cent in Gandaki, 44.4 per cent in Lumbini, and 47.5 per cent in Karnali.

Overall, rice is cultivated on a total of 1,398,273 hectares of land nationwide, with the largest area in the Madhesh Province covering 383,150 hectares, and the smallest in Karnali at 41,904 hectares.

As of July 9 last year, the country had witnessed 42.9 per cent rice plantation, the data shows.

Annually, Nepal produces an average of 5,700,000 metric tons of rice, while the demand stands at 6,200,000 metric tons, according to the Department's information officer Tilak Raj Chaulagain.(RSS)