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Rice Day Celebrated In Nepal
By KTM Metro Reporter
June 30, 2012: Nepalese farmers have celebrated the Ninth Rice Day yesterday: 15th of the Asadh following the Nepalese calendar. Traditionally, Nepalese farmers celebrate this day eating flattened rice with yogurt. This day is the half way to completing the rice plantation if the monsoon arrives on time.
Rice is the one of the largest crops in Nepal. The whole Terai flatland and all the river valleys in the hills are planted with rice. One time, Nepal was a rice-exporting country but now, it imports rice, as the country could not keep up with the rice production in proportion to the growth of the population. In addition, the country could not increase the productivity of rice despite the country spending so much of the budget on the agriculture.
The government could not provide the farmers with the fertilizers at the time of rice transplanting. The government spends Rs 2 billion on subsidy on fertilizers but the benefit of such subsidy is lost, as the fertilizers are not available on time.
According to the government statistics, the national demand for fertilizers is about 500,000 metric tons. Out of it, about 100,000 metric tons are needed annually for rice crops across the country. However, the government has not been able to provide farmers with fertilizers at the time of transplantation.
