Kathmandu, January 3
Rice production in the current fiscal has significantly shrunk and the fall is the lowest in the past five years due to the unseasonal rainfall in October 2021.
According to the statistics unveiled by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development on Sunday, rice production went down by 8.74 per cent compared to the production of the last fiscal year (2020-21). This year, the production was 5,130,000 metric tons while it was 5,621,000 last fiscal year.
In the previous three years, the production was 5,550,000 metric tons (fiscal year 2019-20), 5,610,000 (fiscal year 2018-19) and 5,151,925 (2017-2018) fiscal year 2074-75 BS).
Though it was estimated that the rice production this year would increase, the unseasonal rain during the harvest season had its implications on the yield.
According to ministry spokesperson Prakash Sanjel, the rain accompanied by storms had damaged rice crops during the harvest season mainly in Kailali and Kanchanpur in Sudurpaschim and Bardiya, Banke and Kapilvastu districts in Lumbini, which led to the fall in the entire national figure of the rice production.
According to the ministry, the unexpected rains had damaged 424,113 metric tons of paddy cultivated in 111,609 hectares of land. Comparatively, the Sudurpaschim province has lagged behind in paddy production. It produced 441,913 metric tons of rice, which is a 31.49 per cent decline as opposed to the previous fiscal year.
Similarly, the Lumbini province saw an 18.38 per cent decline, Province 1, Province 2, Bagmati and Karnali 0.93, 5.24, 0.35 and 8.76 per cent respectively.
However, Gandaki has increased paddy production by 2.33 per cent in the current fiscal, 2021/22, according to data published by the ministry.
