Agriculture production has slowed down, owing mainly to unfavourable winter weather and low agri-product prices. Growth is expected to be about three percent, down from 8.4 percent in the last fiscal year. The Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives expects paddy production to increase by about 4.6 percent to 4.21 million metric tons. The maize yield is projected to grow by 2.7 percent to 1.5 million metric tons, while that of wheat, the other major crop, is expected to drop by 2.2 percent to 1.2 million metric tons. Millet output was also down by 4.2 percent. The decline in wheat production is attributed to the unusually dry winter and farmers' unwillingness to use electricity to pump water for irrigation because agricultural product prices have remained low throughout the year. Among cash crops, potato production is expected to increase by 5.6 percent to 1.3 million metric tons and sugarcane is expected to grow by 5.1 percent to 2.2 million metric tons. Fruit and vegetable production are up by 9.8 and 10.6 percent respectively.