Sudurpaschim Province Achieves 94% Rice Planting Completion by End of Ashar

Dhangadhi: By the end of Ashar, 94 percent of the fields in Sudurpaschim Province have been successfully planted.

The planting is nearing completion in all nine districts of the province, reaching 93.65 percent overall. Narendra Paneru, the Acting Director of Agriculture for Sudurpaschim Province Agriculture Directorate, reported that as of the end of Ashar, rice cultivation has been completed on 163,000 hectares out of the total 174,576 hectares available in the province.

"Planting has been done in an area of 163,000 hectares. There may be 10,000 hectares left," he stated. District-wise Planting Progress - Darchula: 97% of fields planted - Kailali: 96% of fields planted - Kanchanpur: 95% of fields planted - Dadeldhura, Baitadi, and Bajhang: 90% of fields planted - Achham: 87% of fields planted - Bajura and Doti: 81% of fields planted In terms of area, Kailali leads with 65,000 hectares, followed by Kanchanpur with 47,500 hectares of paddy planted.

Detailed Planting Statistics - Doti: 10,670 hectares - Dadeldhura: 6,136 hectares - Achham: 16,580 hectares - Bajura: 3,331 hectares - Darchula: 4,480 hectares - Baitadi: 9,000 hectares - Bajhang: 7,110 hectares In Kailali and Kanchanpur districts, 'Chaite paddy cultivation' is being undertaken, with planting starting in the month of Chaitra on a few hectares of land.

Paneru highlighted that planting is ongoing in some areas, particularly in Doti's bottom Sero. However, most areas have completed planting. In the Far West, rice is cultivated over a total area of 174,776 hectares, with 36,483 hectares of land partially irrigated. Planting has been delayed in areas lacking irrigation facilities, with 10,000 hectares yet to be planted even after the beginning of Shrawan.