KATHMANDU, March 29: The government has fixed the minimum support price of pre-monsoon paddy (Chaite dhaan) for the fiscal year 2024/25.

A Cabinet meeting held on Thursday decided to fix the floor price of the Chaite dhaan with up to moisture content of 18 percent at Rs 2,707.28 per quintal. If the moisture content is more than 18 percent, the floor price will be maintained by reducing the weight of paddy equivalent to 1,200 grams per quintal for every one percent of the moisture.

At a time, when the production of the pre-monsoon paddy is in declining trend, the government has implemented the minimum support price in the segment. The production of this type of paddy is mainly hit by the lack of irrigation facilities.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, pre-monsoon paddy was produced on 120,042 hectares of land in the fiscal year 2021/22, which decreased to 108,607 hectares in 2022/23. As a result, the yield also declined from 561,197 tons to 540,331 tons in the respective years.  

Koshi Province is the main focus area for production of pre-monsoon paddy. In FY 2022/23, the province produced 300,000 tons of the paddy compared to just 850 tons produced by Karnali Province.  

Meanwhile, the Cabinet meeting also approved providing fiscal equalization grants worth Rs 148 billion to sub-national grants in the next fiscal year. Of the amount, Rs 60 billion will be provided to seven provinces, while Rs 88 billion will be given to the 753 local governments under the heading.  

 
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