Farmers worried as rain damages wheat crop

BANKE: Rainfall on Sunday evening has damaged the wheat crop in Banke.

The wheat crop that had just been harvested as well as those in the field was damaged by the unseasonal rain and wind, said Suryalal Yadav, a farmer from Kamdi in Duduwa Rural Municipality-5.

Likewise, Ramsurat Barma, a farmer from Thukaila village in Nepalgunj-17, said that the hail and wind caused great damage to the wheat crop. The harvested wheat has been soaked in the rainwater while yet to be harvested ones were rendered useless by the hail and wind.

Senior Agricultural Extension Officer Anish Shrestha, Information Officer at the Agricultural Knowledge Center, Banke, said that although the sudden rain did not affect other crops it has damaged the harvested wheat.

Details about the damage caused are being collected through the agriculture units in all eight municipalities, Information Officer Shrestha said. Banke was lashed by rainfall and heavy winds last Wednesday afternoon and on Sunday evening.

Nepal Farmers Federation Banke President Krishna Bikram KC said that the unseasonal rain and wind that occurred on the eve of the New Year has brought despair to the wheat farmers. He mentioned that the rain has also damaged the lentils.