Rice crop spanned 1.55 million hectares of land in the Himalayan country although production was limited to only 5.23 MMT in fiscal year 2016-2017. Nearly 70% of the Nepali population work in the agriculture sector which significantly contributes to national gross domestic product. However, Nepal still struggles to produce an adequate supply of food, especially rice, hence imports from other South Asian countries are vital. To help Nepal cope with its low production, which has resulted in a food deficit, the Chinese government has been helping Nepal to promote production through Chinese hybrid rice since 2016.