Lack of sufficient rain and fertilizer worrying farmers

Siraha. Even as the month of Asar, the most ideal time for paddy transplantation, is nearing to an end most of the paddy fields in Siraha are still barren.

Due to lack of timely rain and shortage of fertilizers paddy plantation has been affected. Bound to depend on rainfall for paddy farming, farmers here are eagerly waiting for downpour while also hoping that the government could manage them the much needed chemical fertilizers.

Although the monsoon has become active in most parts of the country Madhes province is yet to get much rain. Ram Kumar Yadav, a farmer from Lahan Municipality-23 in Siraha, says the transplantation has not been able to start due to lack of timely rain.

‘We have ploughed the fields and prepared the seedlings but neither rain nor fertilizer has arrived,’ he said. Furthermore, the fields have started to drying up due to poor rainfall. ‘Now is the most sensitive time for transplantation but DAP fertilizer is not available in the market. Without fertilizer, the paddy plants cannot be given the necessary nutrients to grow after transplantation.

According to Kiran Bishwakarma, Information Officer of Agriculture Knowledge Centre, Siraha, out of a total of 54,000 hectares of land used for paddy farming only 18 percent of the area has been transplanted so far. If sufficient rain does not fall soon the remaining transplantation will be delayed and this will directly affect production.

However, according to meteorologists, it will take a few more days for the monsoon to fully activate in all of Madhesh. Pradeep Singh Danuwar, chair of the Nepal National Farmers’ Group, Siraha, said that if the government does not pay attention to timely supply of fertilizers and long-term irrigation solutions paddy farmers will continue to face problems, while the country will suffer from lack of production of a staple food grain. RSS