Kathmandu. It is estimated that more than Rs 2.11 billion has been damaged in the agriculture and livestock sector due to the devastating flooding in the Bhotekoshi river.
This is estimated in the ‘Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment’ report recently released by the National Planning Commission and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority. The report states that there has been significant damage to paddy crops, vegetable farming and livestock, especially dairy cattle.
According to the report, the floods have damaged paddy crops on 1,669 hectares. As a result, 5,843 tonnes of paddy production has been damaged. The total damage to agricultural crops is estimated to be more than Rs 1.09 billion.
Beth Bechdol, deputy director-general of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), said in a media interview that hundreds of people have lost their lives and many families have lost their means of livelihood due to the devastating floods in Nepal. “Crops are covered in mud and mud. Fish ponds have been washed away and roads, bridges and markets have been damaged,” she said, adding that the movement of food, animal feed, milk and other agricultural supplies has been disrupted. ’
The FAO’s preliminary assessment shows that about 1,800 hectares of crops (most of which are paddy fields) have been damaged and 7,700 tonnes of produced crops have been damaged. “For farming families, this damage goes beyond the current crop. Losing crops could mean losing the next season’s production and next month’s income,” Bechdol said, adding that the affected area is also an important place for livestock. There were more than 350,000 cattle (cows, buffaloes, sheep and goats) and 1.6 million chickens in the affected 11 municipalities. Thousands of animals were reported missing.
The FAO estimates that 5 percent to 10 percent of livestock and poultry in those communities may have been completely destroyed. “For farming families, losing livestock doesn’t just mean losing today’s food. It can also mean losing an important source of income and future production,” Bekdol said, “So the work of restoring the agricultural sector should be considered as part of the relief effort and should start soon.” ’
According to FAO, Nepal launched crop and livestock insurance in January 2013. Insurance companies in Nepal insure a wide range of crops, vegetables, grains, fruits, poultry, fish, livestock, and other agricultural animals under agricultural insurance. Agricultural insurance has definitely become popular in Nepal. However, livestock and poultry insurance has been the most successful in recent years.
Quoting government data, the FOO said that between the financial years 2021-22 and 2025-26, insurance companies in Nepal issued 704,864 agricultural insurance policies. Of these, livestock and fisheries insurance policies are about 23 percent more than crop insurance policies.
