Unseasonal Rainfall Devastates Wheat Harvest in Banke, Farmers Alarmed

Farmers in Banke district have been left distressed after unseasonal rain and strong winds on Sunday evening caused widespread damage to their wheat crops.

The downpour affected both harvested and standing wheat crops, according to Suryalal Yadav, a farmer from Kamdi in Duduwa Rural Municipality-5. He said crops that had just been collected from the fields were soaked, while those yet to be harvested suffered significant damage due to hail and high winds.

Ramsurat Barma, a farmer from Thukaila village in Nepalgunj-17, echoed similar concerns. “The wheat is either soaked or ruined. The hail and wind destroyed whatever was left in the fields,” he said.

Anish Shrestha, Senior Agricultural Extension Officer and Information Officer at the Agricultural Knowledge Center in Banke, confirmed that while other crops remain largely unaffected, the rainfall has damaged a significant portion of harvested wheat. Data on the extent of the damage is currently being collected from agriculture units across all eight municipalities in the district.

Banke experienced heavy rain and strong winds twice in the past week — on Wednesday and again on Sunday evening — compounding the damage.

Krishna Bikram KC, President of the Nepal Farmers Federation Banke, expressed deep concern, stating that the unseasonal weather on the eve of the New Year has cast a shadow over the farming community. He also noted that lentil crops have been affected alongside wheat, intensifying farmers’ losses.