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Paddy output shrivels 9pc in eastern region
Nepal’s eastern region has witnessed a downfall in the production of paddy according to data from Regional Agriculture Directorate, Biratnagar.bookmark
Deo Narayan Sah
Published at : December 24, 2017
Updated at : February 18, 2020 08:30
Morang
Nepal’s eastern region has witnessed a downfall in the production of paddy according to data from Regional Agriculture Directorate, Biratnagar.
Paddy production in the region has gone down by 9 percent to 1.46 million tonnes this year. Data from last year show that the paddy production in 16 districts of the Eastern region stood at 1.61 million tonnes last year.
The fall in paddy output could be due to lower productivity and a reduction in
farmland allotted for paddy plantation. This year, paddy was planted over 432,989 hectares of land compared to 446,465 hectares last year. Per hectare productivity has also gone down to 3.39 tonnes per hectare from 3.61 tonnes per hectare.
Out of 16 districts in the eastern region, Jhapa has witnessed highest productivity with per hectare yield of 4.8 tonnes of paddy whereas Saptari lies at the bottom in terms of productivity with per hectare yield of 1.6 tonnes.
Similarly, Jhapa also topped the chart in terms of land allotted for paddy plantation with 85,500 hectares. Solukhumbu was on the bottom of the chart with 1500 hectares.
According to Abhimanyu Adhikari, agriculture promotion officer at the directorate, the production of majority of the cereal crops has gone down this year. The fall in paddy production has been attributed to crop devastation from natural disasters such as drought, flood and landslide.
“Initially, many farmers couldn’t plant the paddy due to poor rainfall. And when they did finish planting, it was washed away by flood and landslide,” said Adhikari. “The productivity has been low in districts like Saptari, Siraha and Morang among others while cost of plantation is similar to other districts. This has put farmers in a bind.”
It is high time the farmers start adopting modern technology and opt for commercial farming in order to increase productivity, according to Adhikari.
The farmers of the region were marred by shortage of labour while planting and harvesting paddy. “Only way to mitigate this problem is to use machine during the
plantation and harvesting,” said Adhikari. “The government apart from providing quality seed and fertiliser should make sure farmers have access to agricultural equipments to increase productivity.”
Paddy Production in eastern region
District Total Production (in 2017)
Jhapa 410,400 tonnes
Morang 312,249 tonnes
Sunsari 170,850 tonnes
Saptari 149,875 tonnes
Siraha 76,796 tonnes
Ilam 54,906 tonnes
Udaypur 48,130 tonnes
Bhojpur 43,930 tonnes
Shankhusawa 42,870 tonnes
Khotang 33,444 tonnes
Terhathum 26,830 tonnes
Dhankuta 26,720 tonnes
Panchthar 23,932 tonnes
Taplejung 21,976 tonnes
Okhaldhunga 20,713 tonnes
Solukhumbu 3,600 tonnes
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E-PAPER | March 29, 2024
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