By Our Correspondent
Rajbiraj, Nov. 22: Paddy production has declined by 15 per cent in Saptari district this year due to lack of proper irrigation facility and delay in plantation.
Bhagirath Yadav, chief of Agriculture Knowledge Center in Saptari, said that delayed paddy production in lack of sufficient irrigation facility and plantation of over matured paddy saplings after the delayed rainfall were the major factors causing low paddy production.
“As farmers are busy in harvesting paddy, as per the paddy seeds observed in paddy plant during harvesting time, we are projecting paddy production to fall by 15 per cent this year as compared to last year,” Yadav said.
According to the record of the knowledge centre, the paddy production area in the district was increased by 3,000 hectors this year as compared to last year.
Paddy was planted at 66,000 hectors this year and it is estimated around 160,000 metric tonnes of paddy was harvested, Yadav said.
Paddy production per hector of land is estimated to be 2.43 metric tonnes, this year.
In lack of sufficient irrigation and fertilizer, the productivity of per hector of land is declining in the district.
Paddy production per hector has been declined to 2.43 metric tonnes this year from 3.5 metric tonnes some five years ago. Experts said that paddy production per hector of land can be increased to 4.5 metric tonnes in the district if sufficient irrigation and fertilizer can be supplied.
Yadav said that in lack of proper irrigation facility around 4,000 hectors of land suitable for paddy plantation remained barren this year. Last year, a total of 7,000 hectors of paddy production land had remained barren in the district due to lack of irrigation facility.
According to the knowledge centre, out of 70,000 hectors of land appropriate for paddy plantation, only 40,000 hectors of land has irrigation facility.
Chandra Nahar, Koshi Pump Nahar, Koshi Western Nahar are the three major irrigation cannels providing irrigation facility in the eastern and southern part from Rajbiraj.
However, the northern and western parts of the district from Rajbiraj heavily rely on rain water for the paddy plantation.