Country reports 38 percent rice plantation

Kathmandu: With the monsoon gaining momentum, rice plantations across the country are progressing steadily.

As of Sunday, paddy cultivation has reached 38.6 percent, covering 539,766 hectares of land across all seven provinces. According to the Department of Agriculture, the highest rice plantation percentage is reported in Sudur Paschim at 54.2 percent, while the lowest is in Madhes at 25.5 percent while as of uly 7, it was 34.4 percent in Koshi,

40.2 percent in Bagmati, 49.7 percent in Gandaki, 44.4 percent in Lumbini, and 47.5 percent in Karnali. Overall, rice is cultivated on a total of 1,398,273 hectares of land nationwide, with the largest area in the Madhes Province covering 383,150 hectares, and the smallest in Karnali at 41,904 hectares. As of July 9 last year, the country had witnessed 42.9 percent rice plantation, the data shows.

Annually, Nepal produces an average of 5,700,000 metric tons of rice, while the demand stands at 6,200,000 metric tons, according to Department's information officer Tilak Raj Chaulagain.