GANDAKI: As of Tuesday, 71.03 percent of paddy plantation has been completed in Gandaki Province, according to the Provincial Agriculture Development Directorate. Plantation has been carried out across 66,900 hectares of land.
Lamjung leads with the highest sowing rate at 86.22 percent, followed by Kaski at 77.07 percent, Nawalpur at 75.39 percent, Tanahun at 74.59 percent, Baglung at 67.02 percent, Myagdi at 65.69 percent, Syangja at 62 percent, Gorkha at 61.24 percent, and Parbat at 60 percent.
Agricultural economist Manoj Poudel from the Directorate stated that only 28 percent of plantation had been completed by July 1. However, consistent rainfall over the past two weeks has significantly boosted planting progress. He expects most areas to complete sowing by the last week of July.
Rice cultivation is underway in all nine districts of the province, except for the trans-Himalayan districts of Mustang and Manang.
The Directorate estimates that paddy will be cultivated on 94,182 hectares of land this year. In comparison, paddy was cultivated on 96,053 hectares last year, and 97,769 hectares in the fiscal year 2079/80.
The gradual decline in rice cultivation area is attributed to increasing urbanization and the conversion of agricultural land for housing and infrastructure development.
Despite the shrinking area, productivity can be increased through timely irrigation, improved farming systems, pest control, quality seeds, technology, and fertilizer management, Poudel noted.
Of the total 479,617 hectares of cultivable land in the province, about 100,000 hectares—both rain-fed and irrigated—are used for rice cultivation.
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