October 26: Floods and landslides triggered by incessant rainfall last week have damaged 325,000 metric tons of paddy in all the seven provinces. According to the details made public by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, a total of 325,258 metric tons of paddy worth Rs 8.268 billion have been damaged. 

Earlier, the ministry had released a preliminary data of only three provinces, including Province 1, Lumbini and the Far-West, in which it was estimated that more than 258,000 metric tons of paddy worth Rs 7.22 billion had been damaged. 

According to the latest data provided by the ministry, 28,469 metric tons of paddy worth Rs 800 million have been damaged in three districts of Province 1, including Jhapa, Morang and Sunsari. The floods have affected 49,945 hectares of paddy fields in these three districts. Out of that, paddy planted in 7,492 hectares of land have been completely damaged. 

In Saptari, Siraha and Sarlahi districts of Province 2, a total of 20,350 metric tons of paddy worth Rs 560 million has been damaged. The floods have affected paddy planted in 48,684 hectares of land and completely damaged the crop planted in 5,355 hectares of land. 

The lowest damage has been reported in Bagmati Province. A total of 7,500 hectares of paddy fields in Chitwan and Nuwakot districts have been affected by the floods. Out of that, paddy planted in 530 hectares of land have been completely damaged. According to the ministry, 2,068 metric tons of paddy worth Rs 58 million have been damaged in those districts. 

Districts like Bardiya, Kapilvastu, Banke and Rupandehi of Lumbini Province sustained maximum loss to paddy from the recent floods. Altogether 161,223 metric tons of paddy worth Rs 4.51 billion have been damaged in the province. The floods have affected 93,576 hectares of paddy fields in the province while paddy planted in 42,427 hectares of lands have been completely damaged. 

Similarly, 4,530 metric tons of paddy worth Rs 130 million were damaged in Gandaki Province, 40,219 metric tons of paddy worth Rs 300 million in Karnali Province and 68,400 metric tons of paddy worth Rs 1.91 billion in Far-Western Province. The floods have affected Syangja and Kaski in Gandaki, Dolpa, Jumla, Salyan and Surkhet in Karnali and Kailali and Kanchanpur districts in the far west. 

Joint Secretary and Spokesperson of the Ministry, Prakash Kumar Sanjel, informed that the Ministry has formed working groups in all provinces to coordinate and facilitate the data collection at the provincial level. According to him, a meeting of agriculture ministers and agriculture secretaries of all the provinces is being held at the ministry on Tuesday (October 26) to assess the extent of damage and provide relief. He said that a decision to provide relief to the affected farmers would be taken after the details of the complete damage would be ascertained after the meeting.