Kathmandu, June 29 — Farmers across Nepal celebrate Ashar 15 as National Rice Plantation Day by working in paddy fields and eating dahi-chiura (curd and beaten rice) to replenish energy. The dish, believed to cool the body and restore strength, is now a widely observed tradition across all professions, turning the day into a cultural festival.

Curd carries religious and symbolic importance in Nepali society. Before embarking on important work or travel, people apply a red tika of curd and rice and eat curd for good luck. This practice remains popular today. Scientifically, curd is valued for aiding digestion and treating ailments like diarrhea. Ancient Ayurvedic texts promote buttermilk—derived from curd—for post-meal digestion. A legend also claims Guru Gorakhnath predicted King Prithvi Narayan Shah’s greatness after offering him curd.

National Paddy Day was officially established in 2005, following a government decision in 2004. Given Nepal's agrarian economy, the day highlights rice farming’s critical role. Farmers, singing Asare bhaka and splashing in the mud, make the day joyful and communal. A common belief urges everyone to step into paddy mud at least once in Ashar.

This year, however, plantation has been delayed due to weak rainfall and fertilizer shortages, though the Agriculture Ministry claims fertilizer supplies are adequate.

Paddy cultivation is projected to shrink by 3.04% this year, down to 1.395 million hectares from 1.439 million last year. The Department of Agriculture (DoA) attributes this to farmers shifting to more profitable cash crops. Madhesh Province will see the largest cultivation area (383,150 hectares), followed by Lumbini (302,889 ha), Koshi (276,386 ha), and Karnali (41,904 ha).

The declining area hints at reduced domestic rice production, which was 5.724 million tons last year. To meet demand, Nepal imported rice and paddy worth Rs 35.53 billion in the first 10 months of this fiscal year, including Rs 15.76 billion for 201,916 tons of rice and Rs 19.77 billion for 496,989 tons of paddy, including seed imports.

To mitigate the decline, the government is encouraging Chaite dhan (spring paddy), grown using irrigation. Around 110,000 hectares are currently used, with plans to double this area to meet local demand, said DoA chief Prakash Kumar Sanjel.

As of Friday, only 12.33% of monsoon paddy planting is complete. Sudurpashchim leads with 45.49% coverage, followed by Bagmati (20.53%), Karnali (20.11%), Gandaki (13.79%), Lumbini (9.66%), and Koshi (5.96%).

People’s News Monitoring Service