Oct 22, Kathmandu: In the Chitwan district, it is predicted that rice production will decrease by five to seven percent this year. According to Dhan Bahadur Thapa, Chief Senior Agricultural Officer of the Prime Minister's Agriculture Modernization Project, Project Implementation Unit Chitwan, production is estimated to decrease by 5 to 7 percent this year.

Due to erratic rainfall, low-quality seeds, lack of chemical fertilizers, etc., the production of paddy has decreased. Thapa said that due to farmers not paying attention to the seeds, insect outbreaks, and rain with wind during paddy flowering also affected the production.

He informed that due to the use of seeds of a different nature than recommended by the farmers, outbreaks of diseases such as neck blight, panicle blight, milling, leafhoppers, and gorse have also been observed and it is predicted that this will affect the production.

Farmers have been saying that paddy production has decreased due to not getting fertilizer on time. Bishara Poudel, a farmer of Bharatpur Metropolitan City-8, complained that due to the lack of fertilizer at the time of paddy planting, the crop could not be harvested this year. He said that an easy supply of fertilizers is the most important to increase rice production which is the main crop of Nepal.

"Like last year, this year too, we did not get fertilizer at the right time and how will the production be good?" He asked. Although the area is small, the Chitwan district ranks first for rice production. When paddy is planted in an area of ​​28 to 30 thousand hectares in winter and dry season, around one lakh tons of rice, has been produced annually in Chitwan. According to the latest statistics, paddy production in Chitwan is around 3.40 tons per hectare.

The area of ​​cultivated land is decreasing due to the fragmentation of land and the conversion of arable land to ghderi. in Chitwan district

There is a 'paddy zone'. Even though the average production of rice is increasing, the cultivated land is decreasing, which affects the overall production. In the eastern region of the Chitwan district, paddy harvesting has started, while in West Chitwan, harvesting of paddy will start in a week.