Paddy production likely to drop 10%

Kathmandu November 29- The unfavourable monsoon and shortage of chemical fertilisers caused by the protest in the Tarai have hit the production of paddy this year. The Ministry of Agricultural Development (MoAD), in its preliminary report, has said paddy output will plummet by 10 per cent this year as compared to the previous fiscal. The significant decline in paddy production — which has a large contribution to the country’s economy — is another setback for the Nepali economy, which has been suffering due to the disruptions in supply at Nepal-India border.

The government recently revised down its projection of economic growth to two per cent from six per cent earlier. However, a significant drop in the major crop has heightened the threat that the country may not be able to achieve even the revised growth target this fiscal.

A significant decline in paddy production will hit the overall economic growth of the country in this fiscal because paddy and maize contribute about 95 per cent in the total production of summer crops. Summer crops contribute 75 per cent in the total agriculture production. Agriculture sector, meanwhile, contributes 35 per cent to the country’s economy. Therefore, agricultural production easily impacts the economic growth.