Paddy transplantation is expected to be completed across the country in the next two weeks as farmers have achieved the fastest transplantation rate in recent memory, the Agriculture Ministry said.

According to the ministry’s transplantation data, paddy had been transplanted on 77.47 percent of the 1.55 million hectares of available paddy fields as of July 23. During the same period last year, transplantation was completed on 60 percent of the paddy fields.

“Transplantation has progressed at a faster pace in the Tarai region which accounts for 71 percent of the country’s paddy fields due to an abundant supply of rainwater,” said Shankar Sapkota, assistant spokesperson for the ministry.

“There is no flooding and submergence in the key producing areas, and we expect 100 percent of the paddy acreage to be planted this year.” He added that if there was rain after two weeks, the area under paddy could increase as farmers will use their barren land too.

This year, the paddy transplantation rate is higher than the previous year’s figure, which resulted in the country reaping an all-time high bumper harvest of 5.23 million tonnes. The better-than-expected transplantation rate has given hopes for another record harvest. The government has targeted producing 5.5 million tonnes of paddy this fiscal year, he said.

The scenario is favourable for the government to achieve its ambitious 8 percent growth target as the farm sector, particularly paddy, forms a very important part of the economy, according to agro experts.

The Tarai, which is the major paddy producing region in the country, contains 71 percent of its rice fields. The hilly region contains 25 percent and the mountain region 4 percent. This year, the monsoon entered Nepal on June 8, two days before the normal onset date.

According to the ministry, the transplantation rate is higher in the far western region with 95.63 percent of the total 176,560 hectares planted to paddy. Likewise, the transplantation rate in the mid-western and western regions has been recorded at 73.09 percent of the 178,096 hectares and 86.45 percent of the 312,547 hectares respectively.

According to the ministry, the transplantation rate in the central and eastern regions has been recorded at 76.88 percent of the 439,328 hectares and 66.34 percent of 445,938 hectares respectively.

The ministry’s statistics show that paddy transplantation in the mountain region has been completed on 80.04 percent of the 58,158 hectares while in the hilly region the rate is 77.73 percent of the 399,675 hectares. In the Tarai, paddy transplantation has been completed on 77.25 percent of the 1.09 million hectares of paddy fields.