The Agriculture Department and Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University (PJTSAU) have joined hands with the Indian School of Business (ISB) to work out strategies for branding and marketing of ‘Telangana Sona’ superfine variety rice that has the lowest glycemic index among all known varieties.
Telangana Sona (RNR 15048) is a new paddy variety developed by PJTSAU with special characteristics such as fine grain, high yielding quality and blast resistance. The paddy variety is advantageous for farmers as it grows in a relatively shorter period — 125 days against the average of 150 days — and is suitable for cultivation in both Vaanakalam (kharif) and Yasangi (rabi) crop seasons.
According to secretary (Agriculture) B. Janardhan Reddy, the paddy variety produces short slender grains, has less broken rice percentage, good head rice recovery and high yield potential, making it a premier variety for farmers to grow. From the perspective of millers, Telangana Sona leads to less broken grain (wastage) after milling and makes it a better product to use.
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To a rice consumer, Telangana Sona has the lowest glycemic index among all known varieties of paddy in the State, making it ideal for rice eating diabetics. Further, in comparison to other popular varieties of paddy, the composition of protein, carbohydrates, energy, niacin (vitamin B3) is also higher in Telangana Sona. This makes Telangana Sona a healthy alternative to other varieties of rice in the market, Mr. Janardhan Reddy explained.
Professor Madhu Viswanathan of ISB said that Telangana Sona is a disrupter in the rice market with a potential to make every consumer’s diet healthier and more nutritious. Telangana Sona provides customers the opportunity to make a small change that would help their health. ISB will work with the Telangana government to create a marketing and branding strategy for Telangana Sona to drive awareness among consumers about the benefits of using it, he stated.
Expressing happiness over the partnership, Vice-Chancellor of PJTSAU V. Praveen Rao said that Telangana Sona is a blessing for producers (farmers), millers, traders and consumers, and particularly for health conscious rice lovers. It is a climate smart variety that could save 2 to 4 tmc ft of water besides saving ₹20 crore on pesticide use for rice blast attack for every one lakh acres of cultivation compared to longer duration varieties.
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