The United Nations had declared to celebrate the year 1966 as the Year of the Rice around the slogan' freedom from hunger', declaring rice as the 'crop of the year'. Nepal has been celebrating the 15th of Asar as the National Paddy Day since 2005.
The objective of marking the National Paddy Day is to increase the productivity in the context of growing dependency on import of food crops each passing year.
Of the total of around 1 million 425 thousand heactares of land suitable for paddy cultivation in the country, rice has been planted only on eight per cent as of today, Joint Spokesperson at the Ministry of Agricultural Development, Shankar Prasad Sapkota, said.
Rice is the staple crop of Nepal and increment in its production props up the Gross Domestic Product whereas a decrease in rice production leads to a slump in the economic condition.
In the past, the country used to export rice but in recent years it has to import it. Nepal imports one million metric tonnes of rice annually. This year, the country imported rice worth approximately Rs 14 billion from India, Agriculture Minister Hari Prasad Parajuli said.
He claimed that Nepal would be self sufficient in rice in the coming three years. RSS
World Water Day being observed today
A view of plantation of rice seedlings seen at Daraundiphant of Gorkha district on on June 30. National Paddy Day (Asar-15). (Photos: Narahari Sapkota)
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