KATHMANDU, Jan 5: Nepal’s paddy production is estimated to grow by 4.04 percent to over 5.955 million tons in the current fiscal year, despite many rice fields across the country being affected by flash flood and landslides.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (MoALD), in its preliminary report, has estimated the aforementioned volume of the staple crop in the fiscal year 2024/25. Matina Joshi Vaidya, spokesperson for the MoALD, said the quantity production is expected to grow despite a decline in paddy plantation areas during the review period.
According to the MoALD, the paddy including spring paddy (Chaite Dhan) and main summer paddy (Barkhe Dhan) were planted in a total land area of 1.420 hectares this year. “The land area is 1.28 percent less compared to the plantation land area during last year,” said Vaidya.
Nawalpur sees rise in winter paddy harvest
The ministry reported that the increase in production volume was the result of the improvement in productivity in the segment. The country’s average productivity of paddy has reached 4.19 metric tons per hectare, which is considered among the highest as of now.
Province-wise, rice production has increased in Koshi, Madhes, Lumbini and Sudurpaschim provinces. According to the MoALD, production growth in the remaining three provinces stood negative in the review period.
Paddy cultivation in Rukum (West), which is one of the main paddy production hubs of Karnali Province, was down due to a fall in cultivation area. Vaidya informed that the paddy production area also declined in Lamjung. Some parts of Nawalparasi (East) witnessed problems of poor yield of the planted crops.
Along with the summer paddy, the productivity of spring paddy also increased this year. Palpa, Gulmi, Arghakhanchi, Pyuthan, Kaligandaki, Badikhola, Ridi Khola, Mathura and other areas are popular for spring paddy as the terraced fields can be seen covered with paddy during the March-May period. Most of the time, production of spring paddy suffers from a lack of sufficient irrigation.
The MoALD has attributed the increased paddy productivity to the timely and adequate rainfall, easy availability of chemical fertilizers and use of improved rice seeds. As per the government data, the monsoon rain this year was active three days earlier than the average time.
Paddy is one of the main food crops of Nepal. It accounts for around half of the country’s agricultural area and production. On an average, the crop contributes around 5-7 percent to Nepal’s GDP.
