Lumbini. Paddy sowing has been completed in more than 72,000 hectares of land in Lumbini Province this year. According to the statistics up to Asad 15, the time for paddy sowing, sowing has been completed in only 72,520 hectares of land so far.
This is 23.94 percent of the total potential area. Paddy is cultivated in a total area of 302,939 hectares in Lumbini Province. The total land suitable for paddy cultivation in the province is 680,015 hectares. Ram Prasad Pandey, Director General of the Agricultural Development Directorate under the Ministry of Agriculture of the Lumbini Province Government, said that paddy production has been increasing in the province in recent years.
The situation of sowing has been different in the districts of the province. Among the districts of the province, the highest percentage of sowing has been completed in Pyuthan with 82 percent, while the lowest percentage has been completed in Gulmi with only five percent. Kapilvastu and Rupandehi are the major rice-producing districts. In these districts, 21.82 percent of the area is covered by rice in Kapilvastu and 21.06 percent in Rupandehi. The district with the lowest rice-sown area is Rukumpur. That district has covered 1.46 percent.
This year, a total of 65,871 hectares of land will be sown in Kapilvastu, but so far only 4,611 hectares have been sown. In Dang, rice has been sown on 6,328 hectares out of 37,225 hectares. In Bardiya, rice has been sown on 13,714 hectares out of 50,150 hectares. Similarly, in Banke, out of 34,711 hectares, only 3,818 hectares have been sown with rice. There has also been low sowing in hilly districts like Palpa, Arghakhanchi, Gulmi, and Rolpa. Last year, rice was sown on an area of 318,009 hectares in Lumbini Province.
Director General Ram Prasad Pandey said that the provincial government is running various programs to increase rice production, including seed production, technology demonstration, irrigation, intensification, promotion of Chaite rice, and conservation of indigenous varieties. Currently, the varieties grown in the province include Savitri, Sama Mansuli, Hardinath 6, Radha 4, Sukka Dhan 1 and 2, Gangasagar 1 and 2, and Khumal Basmati. In addition, the use of traditional rice seeds such as Tilki, Simtharo, Kalanamak, Hansraj, Jhinuwa, and Manasara is also increasing.
Similarly, rice cultivation in the province is contributing 56.15 percent to total food production and 43.87 percent to total consumable food. On the occasion of National Rice Day, Provincial Agriculture Minister Dinesh Panthi informed that the government has launched a special campaign to make Lumbini Province an ‘organic’ province. He said that the campaign has been started from Rukumpur in the province. Agriculture Secretary Yam Narayan Devkota said that the government is committed to promoting rice as it is not only a major food crop but also linked to culture and tradition.
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