Agricultural production in Koshi Province rose by 1.13% in the last fiscal year, 2023/24, despite a 1.55% year-on-year reduction in the area under cultivation, according to Nepal Rastra Bank’s (NRB) latest report.
The decline in cultivated land is attributed to factors such as migration and the conversion of agricultural land into residential areas. However, the increase in production was driven primarily by significant growth in paddy and millet yields, which rose by 7.45% and 0.86%, respectively, under the food crop category.
Read: Nepali Farmers Expected to Harvest Record 5.95 Million Tonnes of Paddy This FY
Of the province's total agricultural area, 87.92% is dedicated to food and cash crops, 5.11% to vegetable cultivation, and 6.97% to other crops, according to NRB’s “Provincial Economic Activities Study Report for Fiscal Year 2023/24”.
Changes in Agricultural Output
Compared to FY 2022/23, vegetable production increased by 1.98%, tea production rose marginally by 0.01%, coffee production by 1.23% and honey production saw a modest 0.28% increase. However, fruit production declined by 0.94%, and spice production dropped significantly by 8.03%.
GDP Contribution
The National Statistics Office estimates Koshi Province’s contribution to Nepal’s GDP in 2023/24 to remain at 15.84%, slightly down from 15.88% in the previous fiscal year.
The contributions of the agricultural, industrial, and service sectors to the province's GDP are projected at 32.80%, 16.32%, and 50.88%, respectively.
Agricultural and Industrial Developments
Irrigation facilities now cover 37.3% of the province's cultivable land, up from 36.74% in the previous fiscal year.
While the milk, meat, egg and fish production rose by 19.93%, 2.30%, 1.73% and 1.21%, respectively, the wool production dropped by 6.43%.
Industrial Capacity Utilization
The average capacity utilization of selected industries in Koshi improved slightly to 52.7% in FY 2023/24 from 51.1% in the previous year.
Tire and tube manufacturing industries reported the highest capacity utilization at 91.3%, while Industries producing vegetable ghee had the lowest utilization at 4.4%.
Garment production saw the highest growth, while domestic metal goods production fell by 45.7%.
Employment Trends
Employment in 43 industries across the province fell from 18,461 workers in FY 2022/23 to 16,958 in 2023/24, marking an 8.1% decline.
Industries in Sunsari, Morang, Ilam, Jhapa, and Udayapur experienced significant job losses. Among the total workforce, Nepali workers constituted 83.2% in 2022/23, rising to 91% in 2023/24. Foreign workers' share dropped from 16.8% to 9%.
Financial Growth
Industrial loans in Koshi Province increased by 8.11% in FY 2023/24, reaching Rs 139 billion, compared to 6.64% growth in the previous year.
The province hosts 1,837 branches – 754 of commercial banks, 195 of development banks, 36 of finance companies and 852 of microfinance institutions branches.
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