Paddy plantation of this year has almost completed across country, as plantation has been done in 92 per cent of the total paddy fields so far.
According to the Centre for Crop Department and Agro-Biodiversity Conservation, paddy plantation has completed in around 1.375 million hectares of land out of the total 1.488 million hectares of paddy fields.
Chief of Centre for Crop Department and Agro-Biodiversity Conservation Dr. Ram Krishna Shrestha said that paddy has been planted in 92 per cent cultivable land of the country, and it is less by 3 percentage points than the previous year.
Last year this time, paddy plantation was completed in 95 per cent of paddy fields.
He said that paddy plantation has almost completed across the country as the plantation period has completed technically.
Stating that the arrival of information about plantation from the provinces has stopped for the last week, he, however, said that they were asking the concerned bodies of provinces to send the final plantation update for this year.
According to Shrestha, plantation has reduced this year than last year due to weak and late monsoon.
Plantation falls in Madhes Province
The paddy plantation was completed in Sudurpashchim Province followed by Karnali Province.
About 99 per cent paddy plantation has been completed in Sudurpashchim and Karnali Province this year. Paddy plantation has been completed in about 176,359 hectares out of 177,767 hectares of paddy fields in Sudurpashchim Province.
Similarly, paddy plantation has been completed in 44,714 hectares out of a total 45,387 hectares of paddy fields in Karnali Province and 329,355 hectares (97%) out of 340,829 hectares in Koshi Province.
Similarly, paddy plantation has been completed in 95 per cent (295,407 hectares) in Lumbini and 93 per cent (105,964 hectares) in Bagmati Province.
Likewise, paddy plantation has been completed in 94 per cent (92,167 hectares) in Gandaki Province this year.
The paddy plantation is the lowest in Madhes Province where plantation has completed only in 82 per cent of the total paddy fields. Paddy plantation has been done in 331,165 hectares out of the total paddy fields of 401,650 hectares in the province.
The paddy plantation in Madhes Province is 11 percentage points lower this year than last year during the review period.
Paddy plantation completed 93 per cent of the total paddy fields in Madhes Province last year.
Shrestha said that the paddy fields of Madhes and other provinces where there is no access to irrigation facilities have remained barren.
“The average rainfall this monsoon is lower this year than last as per our earlier projection. So, lack of sufficient rainfall across the country has directly hit the plantation as many fields depend on rains for plantation,” he said.
The low plantation in Madhes Province, which is a recognised food basket of Nepal, is likely to affect paddy production this year, he said.
Not only delay in plantation due to lack of rains, planted rice saplings have also dried in various places of Tarai area, especially Madhes Province due to drought, he said.
