Ambavaram Vidya Sagar

Early Season Rice Cultivation in Nepal: Opportunities and Constraints Ambavaram Vidya Sagar

Rice is cultivated in all physiographic regions in Nepal. The practice of rice cultivation differs with landscape and season. Early season (spring) and Normal season (summer) are two seasons in which rice is cultivated in Nepal. Early season rice (Chaite rice) sowings are practiced in February-march and Normal season rice sowings are practiced usually in June-July. Both the early rice and normal rice are cultivated in the lowlands while only normal season rice is cultivated in upland regions. There are some households where farmers know only rice cultivation for their survival. There are considerable differences in practices of production, storage and marketing between early season rice and normal season rice in Nepal. This study addresses that the early season rice cultivation practice has significant opportunities. In contrast, there are some potenpotential difficulties involved in early season rice cultivation. Early rice cultivation practice needs an appropriate technology transfer system which was lagged behind to improve the livelihood of the small scale rice farmers in the study area.