Harvesting of the 2002 rice crop is underway and will continue into December. The outcome of the harvest is provisionally forecast at 4.0 million tonnes of paddy (2.6 million tonnes of milled rice), some 4 percent below the bumper crop of 4.2 million tonnes in 2001, but still above average. The maize crop was harvested in August-September, while harvesting of millet is still ongoing. The aggregate output of coarse grains is expected to remain at about last year’s level of 1.8 million tonnes. Planting of winter wheat for harvest from March 2003 has started and will be completed by early December.
The country’s agricultural sector accounts for over 35 percent of GDP and provides for more than 75 percent of employment. Most of the agricultural production is rainfed and takes place in the narrow strip of lowland in the south, along the border with India. The 2002 monsoon rain was heavier than normal and was followed by widespread floods and landslides, notably in eastern and central parts of the country, affecting an estimated 300 000 people and causing more than 500 deaths. Extensive damage to infrastructure was reported, but though large areas of fertile farmland were affected, overall, the impact on cereal production was expected to be minimal. Relief operations in favour of the flood and landslide affected population is ongoing, while the WFP is providing food assistance to the country’s food sufficiency programmes and to Bhutanese refugees living in camps.