How is this agrarian country faring in the midst of another paddy plantation season? The once fertile fields of the Madhes have the answer. 

Even in the midst of the monsoon, most of the paddy fields are lying barren in the province known as the grain basket of the country, thanks to a prolonged drought and a lack of irrigation facilities. 

This is not a new phenomenon, by the way. Drought conditions have been prevailing in Madhesh for (at least) about three years, leading to a serious scarcity of drinking water, leave alone water for irrigation. 

A couple of factors are behind this crisis situation. Erratic weather patterns resulting from climate change have played a huge part and so has the degradation of the Chure hills, thanks to an unchecked exploitation of the hills for construction materials like sand, boulders, and deforestation. Aware of the central role of the Chure as a source of water for the fertile fields of Madhesh as well as its burgeoning population, the government has a program dedicated to its conservation, but the efficacy of the program leaves much to be desired. 

The vital role of Madhes in feeding the whole country can be better understood by the fact that the province has 8,02,988 hectares of cultivated land, accounting for about 21.33 percent of total cultivated land (39,24,009 hectares) in the country. The province has 26.4 percent of the paddy fields and 26.56 percent (67,156 hectares) of the horticultural lands (2,52,818 hectares).  

How to revive the grain basket of the country? This is a crucial question before central, provincial and local governments. 

Farmers throughout the country, including in the Madhesh, have been relying on rains for cultivation since ancient times. Any government worth its name should be able to provide irrigation facilities to the farmers, in this day and age, if it is indeed serious about averting a famine. In an era of global warming and climate change, we would do well to opt more and more for less water-intensive crops. 

 

Also, the drought afflicting Nepal’s southern plains and beyond have laid bare a misplaced priority of the government. For decades, the government’s focus has been on transboundary water cooperation rather than on meeting domestic requirements of water for drinking, irrigation, navigation and green energy generation. 

 

The government should learn lessons from the parched fields and act accordingly.