The gnats that have spread in Rajapur and Geruwa are drying up farmers' rice crops, and farmers are worried as insecticides have not had any effect.
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The Gabaro pest is spreading in the Chaite rice that is about to ripen in Rajapur Municipality and Geruwa Rural Municipality of Bardiya. Despite the use of pesticides to control the pest, the spread has not stopped.
Anita Chaudhary of Rajapur-3 Chakhapur said that despite using pesticides on the advice of an agricultural technician to control the Gabaro that has spread for two weeks, it has not been prevented. 'The pest has moved from the place where the pesticide was used and is spreading elsewhere,' she said, 'This year's investment in Chaite rice has been wasted.'
Chaite rice is cultivated on an area of about 700 hectares in the two municipalities. Farmers bring in the rice planted in Chaite by the last week of Jestha. Neelam Chaudhary, a member of the Panch Kanya Farmers Group, Rajapur-3, said that she has been using a pesticide called Kartap Hydrochloride for a week on the advice of a technician to control the pest. ‘The pest has not been controlled, it is spreading more,’ she said, ‘We are very worried after the pest outbreak spread when the rice is about to ripen.’
Hariram Tharu, a farmer from Geruwa-1, said that the Gabaro pest has been causing trouble every year. This year, he said, he is worried that the cost of seeds, fertilizers and plowing will not be met after it has spread more. ‘The Gabaro pest has been cutting off the tops and roots of the rice, causing the plants to dry up,’ he said, ‘The pesticides have not worked. The caterpillars of the Gabaro pest have been fertilizing the tops of the rice and entering the roots, causing damage.’
Yubaraj BK, an agricultural officer at the National Agricultural Modernization Program Unit, said that the pest spreads every year when Chait rice is planted in the same field. ‘For that, Chaite rice should be planted after one or two years,’ he said. ‘If the pest is known to have spread in time, it can be controlled with various types of pesticides.’ The National Agricultural Modernization Program Unit has stated that about 4,213 metric tons of Chaite rice was produced last year. Chaite rice is produced in Rajapur and Geruwa municipalities of Bardiya, which are surrounded by the Karnali River.
