Nepal Completes Paddy Transplantation on 92% Paddy Acreage!

The coronavirus pandemic and the monsoon induced landslides and floods have caused severe socio-economic implications in Nepal.

However, the adequate rainfall in the current monsoon season and the easy availability of manpower due to coronavirus lockdown has aided the agricultural industry.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, the paddy transplantation has been completed by 91.68% of the country’s paddy fields as of July 22, 2020.

Farmers had transplanted paddy saplings on 1.25 million hectares of land out of 1.37 million hectares of paddy acreage.

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The paddy transplantation statistics are as follows:

• High Hill Region – 42,200 hectares completed out of 48,100 hectares
• Mid hill Region – 294,900 hectares completed out of 346,000 hectares
• Tarai Region – 920,382 hectares completed out of 977,414 hectares

By the same time last year, paddy transplantation had been completed only on 63.79% of the total paddy acreage.

However, framers have been complaining about the inadequate amounts of chemical fertilizers amid the transplantation season.

Experts claim that an inadequate supply of chemical fertilizers could affect paddy production despite having promising paddy transplantation statistics. This year the monsoon season has arrived in Nepal on June 12, two days later than the estimated time of arrival.

The agriculture sector contributes 27% of Nepal’s GDP, with the contribution of paddy alone at 6%.