Paddy Production Grows By 71,000 Tons
December 29, 2020 | Investopaper
According to the details released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development on Monday, 56.21 lakhs tons of paddy has been produced in the fiscal year 2077/78. Last year, 55.51 lakh tons of paddy was produced. Even though the production has increased by 70,832 tons, the import is abundant. Despite the increase in production, 10 lakhs tons is still insufficient to become self-sufficient.
As per the statistics of the customs department, 346,161 tons of paddy were imported in the first four months of the current fiscal year. Rice is mainly imported from India. Production and import data show that Nepal is yet to become self-sufficient in paddy.
Increase in paddy production requires timely fertilizer, seeds, and adequate irrigation. But the condition of irrigation is not proper. The condition of manure is also critical. Farmers have been facing shortage of fertilizer at the time of sowing. The main reason for the increase in paddy production this year is active monsoon and seeds. Apart from these two, the area under transplantation has increased by 14,559 hectares as compared to last year.
The paddy was planted in 1,458,915 hectares in the fiscal year 2076/77. This increased to 1,473,474 hectares in the fiscal year 2077/78. This also helped in increasing production.
According to the ministry, the productivity of paddy has increased by 0.28 percent to 3.82 percent as compared to last year. The highest production is in Province 2. Out of 382,275 hectares planted here, 1,420,436 tons of paddy have been produced. In the State 1, 12.75 lakhs tons has been produced in 330,438 hectares. The area under production has also increased in Provinces 1 and 2 along with the production.
In Bagmati, the area under planting has increased but the production has decreased. 510,201 tons of paddy was produced last year but only 59,590 tons has been produced this year. In Gandaki, production has also declined along with the plantation area. Last year, 4,8,737 tons of paddy was produced in Gandaki, but now it has declined to 3,97,094 tons. In Lumbini, production has increased along with the plantation area. Lumbini has produced 12.24 lakhs tons. Karnali produced 137,165 tonnes and the Far West produced 644,991 tons.
