Paddy plantation completes nationwide

Kathmandu, Aug. 24: The paddy plantation of the season has been completed with a plantation done in 98.5 per cent of the total paddy field.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, paddy plantation has been completed in around 1.37 million hectares of 1.39 million hectares of paddy fields as of Friday.

Joint Secretary and spokesperson for the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development Dr. Hari Bahadur K.C said that paddy has been planted in 98.5 per cent of cultivable land of the country, which is higher by 4 per cent than the previous year.

According to Dr. K.C., regular rainfall and the availability of chemical fertilisers have also contributed to the significant achievement in paddy plantations this year.

As per the information received from the provinces, paddy plantation has been completed, he said.

Paddy plantation has been completed in 100 per cent of 174,501 hectares of paddy fields in Sudurpashchim Province. 

Similarly, the paddy plantation has been completed in 99 per cent of the paddy fields of Koshi, Bagmati and Karnali provinces this year.

Paddy plantation has been completed in 99.2 per cent (41,578 hectares) of paddy fields in Karnali, 98.3 per cent (306,377 hectares) in Lumbini and 97.8 per cent (93,921 hectares) in Gandaki Province. 

Paddy is grown in around 41,904 hectares of land in Karnali Province, 311,633 hectares in Lumbini and 96,053 hectares in Gandaki Province.

Paddy was planted in 98.5 per cent of total paddy fields in Karnali, 95 per cent in Lumbini and 95.3 per cent in Gandaki provinces last year.

Paddy plantation has been completed in 99.6 per cent (275,268 hectares) of paddy fields in Koshi, 97.3 per cent (375,614 hectares) in Madhes and 99.2 per cent (111,351 hectares) in Bagmati Province.

Paddy is grown in around 276,386 hectares in the Koshi, 386,150 hectares in Madhes and 114,561 hectares in the Bagmati Province.

Paddy plantation has increased significantly in Madhes, Koshi and Bagmati Provinces this year compared to last year. 

Last year, paddy was planted in 89.2 per cent of the total paddy fields in Madhes, 97.9 per cent in Koshi and 93.3 per cent in Bagmati Provinces.

Likely to increase production

The area of the plantation has increased by 4 per cent (around 60,000 hectares) this year.

“Looking at the timely plantation and an increase in the areas of plantation, the production and productivity of paddy are expected to rise this year. However, rice production and productivity heavily depend on rainfall due to the lack of irrigation facilities in most of the country. Unusual rainfall patterns can lead to fluctuations in productivity.” he told The Rising Nepal.

He said that if the productivity remained the same as last year, the production would increase around by 234,000 tonnes this year.

Currently,  per hectare productivity of paddy stands at 3.9 tonnes.

Dr. K.C. expressed his hope as no significant damages have been made in the paddy fields so far, the yields would be high this year.

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

A total of 5.486 million tonnes of paddy was produced in fiscal year 2022/23 and 5.621 million tonnes in 2020/21. 

An increase in paddy production contributes to the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Among the major food crops in the country, rice ranks first in terms of area, followed by maize. 

Rice alone contributes about 15 per cent to the agricultural GDP and 5 per cent to the overall GDP.