Kathmandu. So far, 94.15 percent paddy sowing has been completed across the country. In the same period last year, more than 98.44 percent paddy was sown.

According to the Department of Agriculture, the highest number of 99.72 saplings have been planted in the far-western state. Director General of the Department, Prakash Sanjel, said that 86.35 percent sowing has been completed in Madhes province due to the delayed monsoon.

So far, 99.34 percent sowing has been done in Karnali Province, 98.07 percent in Lumbini Province, 97.27 percent in Bagmati Province, 94.83 percent in Gandaki Province and 94.42 percent in Koshi Province.

Sowing has been completed on about 1.3 million hectares of land across the country. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, around 1.4 million hectares of land is cultivable across the country. Sowing is expected to increase by a few percent by the second week of August.

Terai region is considered suitable in terms of rice production and area. It is said that 70 percent of the total production is produced in the Tarai and 30 percent in the hilly region. In the fiscal year 2080/81, 5,724,234 metric tonnes of paddy was produced. About 3.5 million metric tons of edible rice will be produced from the estimated 6 million metric tons of rice produced in the country this year.