Madhesh Province, the region with the highest volume of paddy production, has only planted paddy on 46 per cent of its arable land as of Sunday. Due to drought and lack of proper irrigation facilities, only 174,508 hectares have been planted out of 372,645 hectares of land fit for paddy cultivation, according to the Crop Development and Agricultural Biodiversity Conservation Centre.
Paddy has been planted in 72 per cent of the cultivable land across the country. Typically, planting begins in mid-June, but according to the latest data from all seven provinces, only 72.14 per cent has been completed by July 19. During the same period last year, 84.6 per cent of rice was planted.
Although the monsoon entered Nepal 15 days earlier this year, erratic monsoon patterns with frequent onset and withdrawal have resulted in scant rainfall across the country. Weak monsoon by mid-July forced farmers to rely on boring for rice plantation.
