Mar 04, Kathmandu- This time, it hasn't rained even once during the period of maize cultivation.

The maize farmers in the hilly areas of Udaipur district are worried as it has become a laborious to cultivate maize during the absence of rain. With the onset of 'Basanta Panchami' in the month of Magh, plowing of fields is started in the hilly areas of the district and corn cultivation is started from the first week of Falgun. However, there has been no rain so far, and the drought has made it difficult to grow maize.

Gopal Magar, a farmer of Rautamai Rural Municipality-2 Bhutar, complained that there was no rainfall even after the start of the maize growing season. He said that the fields were plowed from the second week of Magh, but there was no rain during the sowing of maize. He says that even once there is no normal rain and when corn is sown in dry fields and fields, it is difficult for the corn plants to grow and the effort is wasted.

In the past years, it rained two to four times between Paush to Basant Panchami, and the land got wet, so it was easy to cultivate maize, but this time it has not rained yet. According to Khamberraj Rai, a resident of Limchungbung Rural Municipality-3, it is difficult to do farming due to increasing drought.