E-Kantipur

SUNSARI, OCT 01 - It is estimated that paddy and jute production in the eastern districts of the country this year has been declining heavily due to the drought.

According Krishna Kumar Yadav, an agricultural technician, paddy output in the eastern Tarai is going to decrease significantly for lack of sufficient rain.

Paddy cultivation in six districts in eastern Nepal was down 50 percent this year which will certainly decrease production.

According to the Eastern Regional Agriculture Directorate, the eastern region had produced 1.5 million tons of paddy during last year, but production will decrease by 40 to 60 percent this year due to the drought. Paddy planting in Sunsari, Morang, Jhapa, Saptari, Siraha and Udayapur, major paddy growing districts, was down 40 to 65 percent. The total paddy production capacity of eastern Nepal is 2.5 million tons.

Jute production has been affected by drought. Last year, jute was grown on 12,000 hectares of land while this year it has decreased to about 10,000 hectares. Jute farming in western Kushaha, Haripur, western Laukahi and Shripur has stopped because of the Koshi flood last year.  

Only 3,000 hectares in Sunsari district has been used for jute farming this year. The area under cultivation in Morang has decreased to 8,000 hectares this year from 9,000 hectares last year. Likewise, farmers in Jhapa have planted jute on 900 hectares of land while Saptari and Siraha districts each have 100 hectares of land under jute farming.

Following the decrease in the production of the cash crop, more than one dozen jute factories in Sunsari and Morang are importing raw jute worth billions from India and Bangladesh.

Jute entrepreneurs said that the production of jute in India and Bangladesh too had been decreasing, and it would directly harm some one dozen jute factories in the country. They said that they were receiving less raw jute than their requirement from India and Bangladesh which had decreased production. 

If the shortage of raw jute continues, all the jute factories will be compelled to cut their work shifts and hundred of workers will be jobless. Of the total nine jute factories in Sunsari and Morang, only eight are in operation.    Entrepreneurs said that they had raw jute to last them one more month.

Posted on: 2009-10-01 09:11

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