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Madhes Province contributes between 22 to 25 percent to Nepal’s overall food security and possesses immense potential in agriculture. Despite its fertile land and favorable conditions, the sector remains neglected due to low investment and a lack of governmental priority. The province boasts 574,360 hectares of cultivable land, with 83 percent of it already irrigated. However, progress has been stifled by the limited availability of improved seeds, irregular supply of fertilizers, and the failure to modernize and adopt agricultural technologies.

In the fiscal year 2024/25, the Madhes Province Government allocated only five percent of its total budget to agriculture. Out of the total provincial budget of over Rs 43.89bn, just Rs 2.57bn was allocated to the Ministry of Land Management and Agricultural Cooperatives. Even more concerning, with only a month left in the fiscal year, just 16 percent of the ministry’s budget had been spent. “Madhes Province is exceptionally fertile and has the potential to become the country’s food bank, but the government has not prioritized agriculture, and therefore, we’ve failed to achieve the desired results,” says Umesh Dahal, Secretary at the ministry. He adds that while infrastructure projects receive significant attention and funding, agriculture continues to be sidelined, which prevents the sector from advancing.

Although Madhes accounts for 19.2 percent of Nepal’s total agricultural output, efforts toward mechanization remain weak. The provincial government has announced plans to integrate agriculture more prominently into the fiscal year 2025/26 policy framework. Initiatives such as the ‘Madhes Feeds the Country Campaign’, ‘Farmer’s Garden, Volunteer’s Umbrella’, and ‘Your Garden, Madhes’s Prosperity’ aim to transform the sector. The government has also proposed programs like ‘one district, one cold storage’ and ‘one district, one custom hiring center’, along with continued efforts toward agricultural electrification and processing of farm produce.

However, these plans risk remaining mere slogans if not backed by adequate budget and implementation strategies. Provincial Assembly Member Mala Raya voices her skepticism, stating, “The government has brought many slogans in the agricultural sector, but I don’t think there’s a clear plan to implement them meaningfully—it’s just a bunch of talk.”

Madhes Province already plays a major role in producing key crops and holds potential to reduce Nepal’s dependency on imports. The province produces 5,486,472 tons of paddy annually across 1,447,789 hectares, contributing 25 percent to national production. With Nepal requiring 6,042,341 tons of rice annually and importing 555,839 tons, Madhes could significantly cut import dependency by expanding Chaite rice cultivation on an additional 189,000 hectares.

Similarly, maize is cultivated on 940,256 hectares in the province, producing 2,976,490 tons and contributing 6.4 percent to national output. Given Nepal’s annual maize demand of 3.41m tons and imports totaling 435,217 tons, Madhes has the potential to expand maize farming by 87,000 hectares to meet domestic needs.

Wheat is grown across 697,762 hectares, yielding 298,462 tons—32 percent of the country’s total production. With a national demand of 2.75m tons and imports of over 654,000 tons, Madhes could further increase wheat production to enhance self-sufficiency.

Mango farming is another area of strength. Cultivated on 42,773 hectares, mangoes from Madhes account for 5,120,055 tons, contributing 77 percent to national production. Sugarcane, grown on 62,833 hectares, yields 3,130,109 tons—66 percent of total output. Oilseed crops cover 2.44m hectares, producing 2.74m tons and contributing 22 percent nationally. Pulses are grown over 2.96m hectares, with a total production of 3.44m tons, or 37 percent of the country’s output.

Bananas are cultivated on 24,286 hectares, yielding 88,745 tons—21 percent of national production. The province is also a major contributor to fish farming, producing 82,261 tons from 14,745 hectares, which accounts for 57 percent of Nepal’s total fish production. However, despite these strengths, Madhes lags in dairy production, contributing only 18 percent (4,758,700 tons) to the national total.

While Madhes Province remains a cornerstone of Nepal’s agricultural output, without strategic investment, proper implementation, and prioritization by the government, its true potential may remain unrealized.

The Budhi Ganga Hydropower Project, originally scheduled for completion by 2025, is now expected to take an additional four years. The project was initially planned to be completed within 42 months of the contract signing, but the contracting process is yet to be finalized.

The procurement process for civil and hydro-mechanical works is currently in its final stage. Project Chief Surendra Ghimire said a letter of intent has been issued after evaluating the bids, and the draft contract has been sent to the donor agency for approval. This is the fourth round of bidding, as the previous bids were canceled during the pre-qualification stage. The 20 MW semi-reservoir project will be constructed in Achham.

The project was designed in 1997 by Canadian International Water and Energy Consultants, with support from Metcon Consultants. A loan agreement was signed between the Government of Nepal, the Saudi Development Fund, and the Kuwaiti Fund for Arab Economic Development, valid through 2025. Saudi Arabia agreed to provide a loan at two percent interest, and the Kuwaiti Fund at 0.5 percent.

The donor agencies are involved in every procurement stage. Recently, the draft agreement was sent for approval on 28 April 2025, after responding to two rounds of queries from the donors.

Ghimire said that the project has been focused on studies and land acquisition. Much of the documentation was lost during the Maoist attack on Mangalsen during the conflict, leading to delays in land surveying and verification. “Main construction hasn’t begun, and no contract has been awarded yet. A significant amount of time has been consumed in the preparatory phase. We had to remeasure lands as government agencies had lost original records,” said Ghimire. The Ministry of Finance must also approve funding sources, as the government is a project partner.

Due to time overruns, project costs have risen. Originally, the total estimated cost for civil and hydro-mechanical works (Lot-1), electro-mechanical works (Lot-2), and transmission line (Lot-3) was Rs 9bn. The revised estimate has increased the total cost to Rs 14bn. However, after transferring responsibility for the transmission line to the National Transmission Grid Company, the cost of civil and electro-mechanical works alone is now estimated at Rs 9bn. The Ministry of Finance must again provide source approval for these revised costs.

The loan agreement, initially valid until 2025, has been extended to 2027 due to delays. Ghimire said the project is prepared to request a further extension if necessary.

The project will now be implemented under a multi-year EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) contract, divided into three packages. Revisions to the detailed engineering design and environmental impact assessment have already been completed.

In the current fiscal year, only 15.39 percent of the allocated Rs 96.55m budget has been spent. According to the Ministry of Finance, the capital expenditure rate so far is 30.73 percent, with only 0.05 percent specifically utilized for the project.

To date, the project has completed several preparatory tasks. These include the environmental study of the transmission line and dam site, construction of office and residential buildings, establishment of the campsite and the Chapartola Substation in Doti, acquisition of 327 ropanis of land, and the construction of an access road and bridge.

Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has resumed the export of 40 MW of electricity to Bangladesh via India. Power from Nepal to Bangladesh was exported for the first time for 12 hours on July 15 last year. It resumed from June 15 this year.

A power sale agreement had been signed between NEA, Bangladesh Power Development Board and NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Limited of India last year, which led to export of electricity for only 12 hours last year.  Nepal has been exporting excess electricity during the rainy season to neighboring India for five months every year. This year, starting today, NEA will export electricity to Bangladesh for the next five months, until Nov 15.

Subarna Sapkota, deputy manager of the NEA Electricity System Control Department, shared that 146.88m units of electricity will be exported in five months. The government will earn Rs 1.29bn in five months through the sale of electricity.  The selling rate of electricity exported under the agreement is 6.4 US cents per unit. 

The electricity will be supplied to the Bhermara substation in Bangladesh via Muzaffarpur, Behrampur, India from Nepal’s 400 kV Dhalkebar substation. Meanwhile, the NEA has continued its electricity exports to neighboring India and started exporting the green electricity to the Indian state of Haryana from this year. It had been exporting 185 MW of electricity since June 1, which increased to 200 MW from Saturday. As per the agreement between Nepal and India, the selling rate of this electricity export is InRs 5.25 per unit.

NEA has also started exporting 80 MW to the Indian state of Bihar since 12 last night. In addition, additional electricity is being purchased and sold in the Indian market through the Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur 400 kV and 132 kV transmission lines. As electricity generation in Nepal has increased with the onset of the rainy season, the surplus electricity is being exported to India and Bangladesh.

The gold is being traded at Rs 197, 500 per tola in the domestic market on Monday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the price of silver, however, has increased by Rs 75 and is being traded at Rs 2, 165 per tola today.