In Khotang, days of continuous rainfall have damaged ripe paddy crops that were ready to be harvested. Farmers across all ten local levels of the district are now in serious concern about their food supply.
According to local farmer Chetanath Acharya from Nerpa, Diktel Rupakot Majhuwagadhi Municipality–6, the loss is heartbreaking. He said he had planted paddy on 35 ropani of land this year. “All the crops were ready to harvest but have now fallen and soaked due to heavy rain,” he shared. “This was our main source of food. Now, hunger seems certain unless the government helps us.”
Agriculture Knowledge Center chief Bishal Modi said the season had started well. Timely rainfall earlier had boosted planting and raised hopes for a good yield. “But the continuous rain for the past few days has caused massive damage,” Modi said. “We are still collecting data, so the total loss is not yet clear.”
The district, which has two municipalities and eight rural municipalities, has about 9,988 hectares of land under paddy cultivation. The center had earlier estimated around 25,649 metric tons of paddy production this year. Now, with the rain destroying crops at the final stage, farmers expect a sharp drop in output.
Most farmers had already cut and left their ripe paddy in the fields to dry before storing. But the constant rainfall has soaked and submerged those piles, leaving them useless. Farmers say the loss extends beyond the fields to what they had hoped to store for the entire year.
Though the rain destroyed paddy, it has slightly benefited winter crops such as wheat, vegetables, and fruits. Still, since rice is the district’s main crop, the damage means this year could bring serious food shortages for many families.
