Unseasonal rainfall damages paddy harvest in Banke

By Gajendra Gurung

Khajura, Nov. 6:  Farmers in Banke district have suffered losses due to unseasonal rainfall, which has damaged paddy crops cut and laid in fields for drying. The rains, which struck unexpectedly on Monday evening, have soaked harvested crops, leaving the farmers distressed.

Paddy laid out for drying in the fields was submerged by the downpour, impacting farmers who were preparing for the harvest. Suresh Kumar Yadav, a farmer from Nepalgunj-17, Paraspur expressed his sorrows and said, "The paddy I harvested for our yearly consumption was soaked in rainwater, causing substantial damage."

"We had cut the paddy from over one bigha of land and left it in the fields. But sudden rain on Monday night gave us no chance to save it, and the entire crop was soaked," he said. 

Dayaram Yadav, a farmer from Duduwa-2, reported that the unexpected rain had damaged the crop of the entire village. "The paddy enough to sustain us for the year was ruined in moments. The loss extends across the whole village; now, neither the rice nor the straw will be usable," he said.

Binod Ghimire, Senior Agricultural Economist and Chief of the Agricultural Knowledge Centre in Banke, confirmed the damage. "Most farmers in Banke had already harvested early-ripening varieties of paddy. However, those who planted late-ripening varieties and cut them recently for drying have suffered losses," he informed. "We are in the process of collecting data to assess the overall damage caused by the rain," he added. 

Persistent cloudy weather in recent days had already made farmers anxious, with many rushing to harvest their crops. Unfortunately, the rains dashed their hopes of a good yield. While Banke had been projected to see a rise in paddy production this year, these unseasonal rains have dealt a significant blow to the harvest.