Paddy yield expected to decrease by five percent this year

Kathmandu, Nov 12: Paddy production is expected to decrease by five percent as a result of the damage caused to the agricultural sector due to the rains this year.

The production of rice is projected to decrease On the basis of the analysis carried out by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development based on the data of the loss of Rs 3.55 billion in the agriculture and livestock sector across the country due to the rains.

Information Officer of the Ministry Mahananda Joshi said that out of the 5 million 955 thousand metric tonnes of rice produced last year, it is estimated that there will be a shortfall of 3 percent i.e. about 300 thousand metric tonnes.

According to him, the impact of climate change has caused the most damage to the agricultural sector due to disasters such as floods, rains, and soil erosion. Since the rice production has been increasing for the last four to five years, it was initially estimated that more than 6 million metric tons of rice would be produced this time. The ministry said the paddy production target was missed due to the damage to the crop.

Due to unseasonal rains and hailstorm, the farmers have suffered huge losses. It has been predicted that there will be a decrease in the production of paddy due to the loss of large quantity of harvested paddy kept for drying in the sun in the field due to water-logging and rain.

Information Officer Joshi said that since the Meteorological Department has informed about the possible rainfall in time, the Ministry has also advised the farmers to harvest the paddy only after the weather clears but failed to result in time.

The Ministry has been providing assistance to farmers in fertilizers, bio-business, technology, technical seeds, etc.