Eight more districts in food deficit districts list

The government has put eight more districts, including five in Tarai, in the list of food deficit districts, a preliminary food situation data for fiscal year 2012/13 compiled by the Ministry of Agricultural Development (MoAD) shows. Saptari, Siraha, Mahottari, Sarlahi and Rautahat in Tarai - often referred to as the country´s bread basket - faced food deficit in 2012/13. Three other hilly districts -- Udayapur, Panchathar and Kaski - also faced food shortage during the review year. With this, the number of districts with food deficit has reached 33 compared to 27 of 2011/12. Mugu and Manang, which were food deficit districts in the last fiscal year, posted food surplus this year, data shows. Panchthar and Udayapur reported food deficit of 7,674 tons and 12,332 tons, respectively, in 2012/13. Similarly, Kaski, Saptari and Siraha faced deficit of 6,619 tons, 55,371 tons and 72,283 tons, respectively. Mahottari, Sarlahi and Rautahat posted deficit of is 26,753 tons, 28,224 tons and 56,883 tons, respectively. Manang and Mugu posted surplus of 12 tons and 1,276 tons, respectively. Vijoy Kumar Mallick, joint secretary at the MoAD, attributed drop in food production in Tarai districts to irregular rainfall. Meanwhile, total production of major cereal crops (rice, wheat, maize, millet, barley and buckwheat) declined by 11 percent in 2012/13. The food production figures, however, exclude production of pulses, vegetables and other food items. Bhola Man Singh Basnet, rice expert and former principal scientist at Nepal Agricultural Research Council, blamed uneven rainfall pattern, shortage of fertilizers and lack of improved seeds, among others, for decline in crop production. “Maize and rice production dropped heavily in 2012/13. Rainfall pattern was not favorable for farming. Shortage of chemical fertilizers further aggravated the situation,” added Basnet. Officials say paddy plantation has been completed in only 50 percent of arable land in Dhanusha, Saptari and Mahottari this year because of the lack of sufficient rainfall. “Though monsoon arrived early this year, it didn´t stay for long,” Mallick said. “Worse still, paddy fields are drying in these districts,” Mallick said. Meanwhile, National Planning Commission, which started the national multi-sector nutrition plan in six districts from 2012/13, on Monday organized a discussion among officials of eight ministries to take stock of the progress on nutrition and food security and identify gaps and challenges and support needed to strengthen the implementation of nutrition and food security intervention. Speaking at a workshop on sharing respective intervention effort for nutrition by the concerned eight ministries, Purushottam Ghimire, joint-secretary of NPC, said the number of food deficit districts has reached 33. “To ensure food security, there should be coordinated efforts among stakeholders,” said Ghimire. The plan, which was implemented in six districts -- Achham, Bajura, Jumla, Nawalparasi, Kapilbastu and Parsa -- in the first year, targets to improve nutritional status of children below five. At present, 81 percent of the children are facing consequences of malnutrition including stunted growth and underweight.