“The affected farmers can rest assured. We will continue to provide them with seeds and fertilizers through the winter and the next monsoon season," said Bui Thi Lan, country representative of FAO in Nepal.[break]
Issuing a statement, FAO has said that its project implemented under the European Union (EU) Food Facility has been successful so far.
“However, a series of unfortunate events caused poor or no rice yields for some farmers in Doti, Baitadi and Darchula districts,” the agency working for food security in Nepal said, referring to the findings of a joint fact finding mission, which also included representatives from the government, local authorities and political parties.
FAO has been distributing high quality seeds to the farmers in various districts.
Among the ´unfortunate events´, FAO said the seed this year were distributed later than the planned date owing to general strike that halted trucks loaded with seeds for 19 days. While this led to delayed planting, seeds meant for lower lying areas were in some cases planted at higher altitudes than recommended, FAO said. It has also blamed late monsoon and unusually heavy rains and fog, which caused lower temperatures, for delayed maturing of the crop.
“The findings showed that in the three affected districts approximately half of the area planted produced poor or no yields. This constitutes just under five percent of the paddy fields in these districts,” reads the statement.
FAO further said it will support the affected families with agricultural inputs. “Farmers suffering from low yields will receive additional support for the coming cultivation seasons in the form of seeds and fertilizer," said Bui Thi Lan.
Under the EU-funded food facility, FAO has been supporting 107,000 of the most food insecure families with cereal and vegetable seeds and fertilizers as well as livestock.
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