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Rice is by far the most important crop in Nepal and accounts for about 50 percent of the total agricultural area and production in the country. It is grown on about 1.45 million ha, and total production since 1988/89 has hovered between 3.2 million and 3.5 million tonnes. Rice contributes approximately one-fourth of GDP and more than 75 percent of the working population is engaged in rice farming for at least six months of the year. Furthermore, rice in Nepal provides nearly 50 percent of the calorie requirements supplied by cereals. Table 1 presents details of the production, exports and imports of rice between 1975/76 and 1993/94. Total production shows an upward trend, with an annual growth rate of 1.65 percent over the 18-year period. The year 1993 was favourable for the paddy crop and, despite some flood damage, the crop harvest was generally good. The production figure was 3.4 million tonnes of paddy, based on preliminary estimates.

Data on the import of rice were published in Foreign Trade Statistics, issued by the Nepalese Ministry of Finance. Although Nepal exported substantial quantities of rice in the 1970s and mid-1980s, the country stopped exporting it from 1987/88 onwards (Government of Nepal, 1992), and in times of drought imports are required. It seems that population growth has outstripped rice production, and rice imports will be necessary unless total production is significantly increased. Table 2 presents daily food supply per caput. While in 1961 the percentage contribution of rice to daily human calorie intake in Nepal was 36.7, this increased to 41.3 in 1985. Cereals contribute about 90 percent of the total calorie intake, and 50 percent of this comes from rice.