Kathmandu.. An agreement to help make Nepal self-reliant in rice production has been reached between the Ministry of Agriculture and International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) today.
Agriculture Minister Chakra Pani Khanal and Matthew Morell, IRRI Director General signed the agreement amid a programme at the Ministry. Paddy is the major crop of Nepal but it annually imports about six million metric tons of rice. The country produced around 4.3 million metric tons of rice last year.
On the occasion, Minister Khanal said that the Ministry was working to increase rice production by adopting scientific measures and technology. On the other hand, the IRRI has planned to reach the paddy seeds to the farmers which could sustain in dry and inundated areas as well.
The IRRI is supporting the National Agriculture Research Centre (NARC) with new paddy seeds and technical assistance. The agreement will be effective for five years.
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