Lumpy skin and El Niño threaten farm output

With lumpy skin disease killing farmers' cattle by the thousands and El Niño causing weather chaos, Nepal could face food shortages or food price shocks, experts have warned.

Topping off the gloomy outlook, reports say that India may ban non-Basmati rice and wheat exports to keep its food reserve intact amid the threat of El Niño disruptions.

Concerns over the return of the El Niño weather phenomenon have already driven benchmark prices to a two-year high, heightening fears of potential crop damage and exacerbating the upward trajectory of prices in the global rice market, reports said.

In Nepal, farmers are unable to transplant paddy because the lumpy skin disease has killed their oxen and they can't plough their fields.

Thousands of Nepali farmers across the country use cattle to plough their paddy fields, and the spread of the disease at the busiest time of the year has caused immense distress among them.

The disease has been expected to hit dairy output too. Experts have warned of a possible drop in the paddy harvest and dairy output which may trigger food insecurity this year.

reference:


https://kathmandupost.com/money/2023/07/15/lumpy-skin-and-el-nino-threaten-farm-output