KATHMANDU, July 22: Paddy transplantation has been completed on over 72 percent of the rice fields in the country so far.
A report published by the Ministry of Agriculture, Land Management and Cooperatives shows that paddy transplantation has been completed on 72.05 percent of paddy fields till Thursday. Out of 1.5 million hectares of paddy fields across the country, transplantation has been completed on 1.1 million hectares by Thursday.
Plantation completed in 50% of paddy fields in 14 districts
Paddy transplantation was completed on only 53.85 percent of paddy fields in the same period last year, according to officials of the ministry. Last year, paddy transplantation was affected by late monsoon initially and heavy rainfall later on. “This year, however, climatic condition has remained favorable,” they added.
In 2017, paddy transplantation had fallen by five percentage points compared to 2016, dropping to 5.15 million tons. It was lower than the target of 5.4 million tons set by the government.
Paddy transplantation was done on 92.93 percent of paddy fields, or 1.4 million hectares, in 2017. This year, the ministry is expecting transplantation on over 97 percent of paddy fields.
According to the report, paddy transplantation so far stands at 74.91 percent, or 43,569 hectares of rice fields, in hilly region; 73.26 percent, or 292,796 hectares of paddy fields, in mid-hills; and 71.46 percent of total rice fields in tarai region.
Similarly, transplantation has been completed on over 259,690 hectares of land in eastern region, 310,688 hectares in central region and 252,758 hectares in western region. According to the report, transplantation has been completed on 129,378 hectares in mid-western region and 166,111 hectares in far-western region.