Farmers in Tokha cheerily planting paddy (Pictures)
Kathmandu, 30 June: The 15th Ashad is celebrated as National Paddy Day across the country.
The government had decided in 2061 BS to mark Ashad 15 of the Nepali calendar every year as National Paddy Day and Paddy Cultivation Festival.
On the occasion of the 20th National Paddy Day and Planting Festival 2080 organized at the National Agricultural Research Council (NARC) at Khumaltar today, the concerned authorities have highlighted the necessity of boosting rice production for both food security and income generation.
While, the concerns on uncultivated land and shortage of chemical fertilizers among others have been made.
Dr Ram Krishan Shrestha, Director general at the Center for Crop Development and Agriculture Biodiversity Conservation, sharing on the programme stated that Nepal requires 7.2 million metric tones of rice annually while the production is only 5.6 million metric tones.
Paddy is cultivated on 47 per cent of the total cultivable land in Nepal.
With the continuous rainfall since the onset of monsoon, farmers are busy planting paddy throughout the nation.
Despite a worrisome increase in uncultivated land across the nation, even few places in Kathmandu Valley witness the joyous paddy plantation.
Below are the pictures of farmers in Toka busy at paddy plantation captured by Desh Shanchar’s Sulav Shrestha;
