Status of Agriculture Genetic Resources in dolakha, Nepal
Status of Agriculture Genetic Resources Nepal is agricultural based country. The number of farmers are 1,52,10,000 in the country which is 65.7% of total population. About 57% of the total households ie 32,33,800 are farm houses. Average family size in the farm household is 5. About 21% (3.2 million hectares) of the total land area of Nepal is used for cultivation and the principal crops are rice (45%), maize (20%), wheat (18%),millet (5%) and potatoes (3%), followed by sugarcane, jute, cotton, tea, barley, legumes, vegetables and fruits. Crops such as rice, rice bean, egg plant, buckwheat, soybean, foxtail millet, citrus, and mango have high genetic diversity relative to other food crops. Crop species in Nepal owe their variability to the presence of about 120 wild relatives of the commonly cultivated food plants and their proximity to cultivated areas that have been listed 60 food species (fruit, vegetables, legumes) and 54 wild relatives of food plants. Majority of the farms pr...