KATHMANDU: Nepal's rice output grew by 4.37% to more than 5.72 million tons in the fiscal year 2023/24, thanks to the increasing use of better seeds, simple availability of chemical fertilizers, and timely, enough rainfall throughout the main rice planting season. According to MoALD figures, the country harvested 5,724,234 tons of paddy this fiscal year, compared to 5,486,472 tons in FY 2022/23.

Hari Bahadur KC, spokesman for MoALD, saw a constant increase in paddy yield in recent years. He highlighted the value of hybrid seeds in improving yields from agriculture despite challenges such as urbanization, rapid land expansion, and the conversion of arable land.

Nepal grows rice on 1,216,400 hectares of land, down roughly 250,000 hectares over the preceding ten years, according to the Agriculture Census 2021. The government sought to improve rice yield from 3.1 to 4 tons per hectare during the previous five years but only produced 3.3 tons per hectare within that time span. The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development claims considerable paddy production initiatives in 23 districts nationally.

Despite improvements in both quantity and productivity, domestic rice production still falls short of meeting Nepal’s demand. The country produces an average of 5.5 million tons annually, while consumption exceeds 7.1 million tons, necessitating imports of around 1.7 million tons annually.

In order to reach rice self-sufficiency by 2028, the government intends to expand yearly output to 7.8 million tons, or a rise of 2.3 million tons over the next four years, as highlighted by KC. According to current data, in only two weeks since the start of this year's monsoon, farmers have transplanted paddy across 450,000 hectares. Thirty-five of the 118 types of paddy are grown commercially.