Country reports 38 percent of rice plantation

Kathmandu: Rice plantations across the country are progressing steadily with the monsoon gaining momentum. As of Sunday, paddy cultivation has reached 38.6 percent, covering 539,766 hectares of land across all seven provinces.

According to the Department of Agriculture, the highest rice plantation percentage is reported in Sudur Paschim at 54.2 percent, while the lowest is in Madhesh at 25.5 percent while as of July 7, it was 34.4 percent in Koshi, 40.2 percent in Bagmati, 49.7 percent in Gandaki, 44.4 percent in Lumbini, and 47.5 percent in Karnali.

Overall, rice is cultivated on a total of 1,398,273 hectares of land nationwide, with the largest area in the Madhes Province covering 383,150 hectares, and the smallest in Karnali at 41,904 hectares. As of July 9 last year, the country had witnessed 42.9 percent rice plantation, the data shows.

Annually, Nepal produces an average of 5,700,000 metric tons of rice, while the demand stands at 6,200,000 metric tons, according to Department’s information officer Tilak Raj Chaulagain.