The paddies of the type Gauriya, Gudura, Anga, Jaudhan, Ratomarshi, Nepale, Malbhogal among others have disappeared, according to the seasoned farmers and those with know-how on agricultural landscape of the district.
The farmers have blamed the introduction of new varieties of paddies for supplanting the indigenous paddy types in Myagdi.
The Gauriya paddy which once stood as a symbol of luxury and opulence with its splendid taste, smell and color is now feared to be verging on extinction, said Chandra Bahadur Karki, a seasoned farmer from Beni – 4.
Another farmer, Hari Krishna Acharya, said the disappearance of the traditional paddy type has impacted the production and social sector bringing forth new problems.
Myagdi's villages – Babiyachaur, Ratnechaur and Bagaphant – known pocket areas for paddy production and cultivation are also facing the same fate with indigenous paddies gradually losing ground.
The disappearance of traditional paddies in the district has also affected fodder for livestock, according to local Tek Bahadur Karki.
The farmers have also charged that the replacement of traditional paddies by new hybrid varieties is inviting new diseases and epidemics.
District Agriculture Development Office, Myagdi attributed as one of the causes of depletion of the production of the indigenous paddies to the recurrent epidemics. RSS
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