Girijans who are into paddy cultivation in the Agency area of Visakhapatnam district, might have a reason to smile in the next two years. Plans are afoot by the government to cultivate basmati rice in the 11 mandals of the Agency area.
The Regional Agriculture Research Station (RARS), at RV Nagar in Chintapalli mandal, has sowed 30 varieties of basmati on a few acres, on experimental basis.
According to Senior Scientist of RARS, D. Sekhar, they had been toying with the idea since last two years. In 2013, the scientists of RARS sowed two varieties – Sumathi and Sugandhi - both failed due to pests and other problems.
“This year, we sowed 30 export quality varieties, and are hopeful that a few would click,” he said.
Basmati rice is mostly cultivated in states like Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and in some parts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
According to Mr. Sekhar, this variety of flavoured rice needs a cooler climate and the climatic condition of the Agency area suits it. “The normal temperature in the Agency area between October and January is about 8 to 13 degree Celsius and this suits the basmati variety,” he said.
According to him the yield per acre could be between 20 to 22 quintals and the pricing could vary between Rs. 80 to 110 per kg.
In the Agency area, about 40,000 acres are under paddy cultivation by the Girijans, which includes terrace farming.
“If we are successful with our experiment, then at least 20,000 acres can be converted to basmati cultivation. The rate per kg is twice more than what is being presently cultivated and if packaging and marketing is taken up by some government agency such as GCC, it will hugely benefit the Girijans,” said Mr. Sekhar.
According to him, the demand for the Indian varieties is high from countries like Saudi Arabia and Iran and if the Girijans can contribute a small percentage to the total export, which was around 37 lakh tonnes, valued at over Rs. 29,000 crore in the last year, good days are ahead for the paddy cultivators in the Agency areas.
