KATHMANDU, Sept 29: Nimbus, one of the leading agro enterprises in the country, is distributing seeds produced by Chinese company Wuhan Comega Seed in the Nepali market.

The two companies recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to distribute rice seed varieties and other agricultural products produced by Wuhan Comega in Nepal, a statement issued by Nimbus said.

Anand Bagaria, managing director of Nimbus, and Shande Liu, managing director of Comega Seed signed the MoU on behalf of their respective companies. 

Hybrid rice varieties developed by Wuhan Comega like CRY-25 and CR-91 has shown the highest yield performance at the rate of 5.8 and 5.7 tons per hectare, respectively, according to the statement. “The result was revealed in a report after a two-year trial period done by Nepal Agricultural and Research Council (NARC), a government research wing which is also responsible for conducting mandatory trials before releasing any crops varieties in Nepal,” the statement added.

NARC had done the trials in four different geographical areas with three replica trials in each area. 

Only 49 percent of rice cultivating area in Nepal ahs irrigation facilities and most of the rice yields depend on seasonal monsoon. “This means that the current rice yield will not be sufficient to cater the growing population. Hybrid varieties, which are being popular across the globe and which has a higher yield of around 15 percent to 20 percent than the conventional varieties in some way, will fulfill this gap between demand and productivity,” Nimbus said in the statement.

Wuhan Comega Seed will also provide technical and skilled knowledge to the technicians and commercial farmers in the country, according to Nimbus.