KATHMANDU: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ emphasized the urgent need to accelerate the development of rice varieties and farming technology adapted to climate change. He also stressed the importance of implementing systematic technology transfer at the farmer level.

In his message commemorating the 20th National Paddy Day and Paddy Planting Day of 2080, Prime Minister Dahal highlighted the negative impact of climate change on paddy production, including drought, untimely rain, flood, landslide, and plant diseases. He extended his best wishes on Paddy Cultivation Day and emphasized the state’s responsibility to ensure citizens’ right to food and nutrition security. The Prime Minister recalled the constitutional provisions and the Right to Food and Food Sovereignty Act, which guarantees the right to food as a fundamental right.

Regarding government initiatives, the message stated that the current administration is implementing various programs to enhance paddy production, such as expanding irrigation facilities, providing grants for chemical fertilizers and seeds, promoting technology expansion, conducting research and development, and implementing a minimum support price policy. However, despite these efforts, the import of rice continues to increase annually due to insufficient domestic production, which poses a threat to food security.

PM Dahal expressed concerns about the challenges in achieving the target of increasing paddy production, emphasizing the adverse impact on food security. He called upon all citizens to contribute to making the country self-sufficient in rice by increasing production in a sustainable manner, through the development and utilization of climate-adapted rice varieties and production technology. The Prime Minister urged everyone to prioritize increasing paddy production and productivity to build a prosperous economy.

The 20th National Paddy Day and Paddy Planting Day is currently being observed nationwide under the slogan ‘Climate Adapted Farmer-Friendly Technology, Increase in Paddy Production’.