Farmers in Rukum West busy harvesting rice

BY RAJU LAMICHHANE,Rukum West, Oct. 20: Farmers in Rukum West are currently busy harvesting rice. With the onset of festivals like Dashain and Tihar, the pressure to cut and process the rice has begun. 

Maima Khatri, a farmer from Musikot Municipality-13, said that, as usual, the rice had ripened around the time of Dashain and Tihar and the harvesting process was underway. He said he was busy cutting, drying, threshing and bundling the rice. Since the rice planted in June-July had ripened during the festive season, agricultural work had become a priority, he added. 

People who have returned home for the Dashain and Tihar festivals, including overseas workers, students and family members, are working in the fields at this time. According to farmers, dry weather without rainfall created a good opportunity for harvesting. Ganesh Sharma, a farmer from Chaurjahari Municipality-5, said that he had been busy in the rice fields from morning until evening. He said that due to the workload of cutting and drying the rice and separating it from the straw, he spent the entire day in the fields. 

In the district, rice is predominantly grown in areas like Khola Village and Jahari Khola in Chaurjahari Municipality, Machhimi and Chhiwangjiula in Musikot Municipality, Chaur in Aatbisokot Municipality and Pedikhet and Peughajiula in Triveni Municipality as well as in Sani Bheri Municipality's Pedibazar and Chainabagar. With the rice being ripe in all these areas, local farmers are busy harvesting, processing and bringing in the rice. 

Most farmers are using oxen to bundle the rice while some are threshing it by hand and the use of threshing machines is increasing in certain areas. According to the Agricultural Development Office, rice is cultivated on a total of 3,048 hectares of land in Rukum West, producing approximately 12,099 metric tons of rice. Varieties such as Khumal 4 and 8, Radha 4, Sabitri, Bindeshwari and Mansuli are grown in the district. There is also the cultivation of spring rice in Solabang of Musikot and Jahari Khola of Chaurjahari.