Nepal’s Sunsari Rice Fields Drying Up Due to Insufficient Rain

The rice fields in the Sunsari district of Nepal have turned dehydrated due to delayed monsoon, leading to a lack of paddy cultivation this year. Consequently, several farmers have not carried out the rice seedling process as a result of delayed monsoon and poor irrigation infrastructure.

Rice seedlings are parched in Barahakshetra Municipality-6, particularly in the Chilaiya and Garaiya areas of Sri Lanka Tapu. One of the Local farmers stated that they were waiting on rainfall this season, but it hadn’t arrived when they needed it. They had just been watching the sky as their seedlings were taken away.

In addition to this, due to the lack of electricity in many areas, efforts to irrigate fields using pump sets have also been obstructed. On a related note. 43 electric motors, 60 delivery pipes, and 155 tarpaulins have been distributed by the Barahakshetra Municipality to promote the farmers, but the reach has not expanded. Particularly, a farmer from Ramdhuni Municipality asserted that he had cultivated rice on two bighas of land but has planted less than half till now. Adding that. Farmers like him who depend on rainfall are now at risk of losing their entire crop if the weather doesn’t transform soon. Additionally, another farmer from Koshi Rural Municipality-7, reported that although she had prepared her nursery beds in Jestha, the seedlings have dried up due to the insufficient of rain. Not only this, but a farmer from Dharan Sub-Metropolitan City-6 said that insufficient water in local canals has halted all his preparations and planting. He said: “we had completed sowing by last year. We haven’t even completed a third”.

According to Nil Kamal Singh, Head of the Agricultural Knowledge Centre, Sunsari district has 4,809 hectares of land under paddy cultivation. Nearly 50% of sowing had been carried out by the end of July last year. However, only 32% have been completed in the same period this year.

Notably, Farmers are urging for proper irrigation solutions and asking for the government’s support in the form of subsidies for fertilisers, seeds, and farming equipment on an immediate basis, whereas some of them have arranged a private source of irrigation. Nevertheless, several have stated that they are not able to do their own and are demanding from the Government for an immediate relief.