LALITPUR: The 23rd National Paddy Day and Transplanting Festival-2083 this year is being observed with the slogan of ‘Climate-friendly technology, self-reliance in rice and prosperity’.
The Department of Agriculture has stated that the day is being celebrated on Monday with the objective of increasing rice production and strengthening food and nutrition security amidst the challenges of climate change.
The National Paddy Day is being celebrated since the year 2061 BS.
A special event is being held at the National Agronomy Research Center, Khumaltar under the Nepal Agricultural Research Council. Farmers, scientists, entrepreneurs and journalists who have contributed to rice production, research and promotion will also be honoured and awarded at the ceremony.
According to the Department, out of 4.1 million farmer households in Nepal, 2.7 million are involved in paddy cultivation, while paddy is cultivated on 54 percent of the total cultivable land. Paddy contributes about 13 percent to the gross domestic production of the agricultural sector and 50 percent to the total food grain production.
In the last five years, rice productivity has increased from 3.80 metric tons per hectare to 4.19 metric tons. In the fiscal year 2081/82, 5,955,476 metric tons of paddy was produced from 1,420,636 hectares of land, the Department said. However, the country needs about 7 million metric tons of paddy annually, so there is still a shortage of about 1 million metric tons of paddy.
Stating that natural disasters such as drought, floods and inundation caused by climate change are adding challenges to paddy production, the government has given priority to research, development and expansion of climate-friendly agricultural technology.
The Nepal Agricultural Research Council has also informed that it is developing improved varieties of paddy that can withstand both drought and inundation and promoting them at the farmer’s level.
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