E-Paper
Jammu’s basmati growers seek govt impetus to promote crop
Though not with the alacrity it showed in the case of apple growers of Kashmir, the Jammu and Kashmir administration has begun assessing the losses of basmati rice
Though not with the alacrity it showed in the case of apple growers of Kashmir, the Jammu and Kashmir administration has begun assessing the losses of basmati rice growers in the plains of Jammu region.
The recent rains have added to the problem of rice growers who say they have got a raw deal by successive governments that failed to tap the potential and promote the unique basmati grown in the region in the international market.
Former education minister Harsh Dev Singh regrets that the Centre issued an order fixing minimum support price for apple growers of Kashmir by introducing a market intervention scheme but basmati growers of Jammu were ignored. “Did it not occur to the government that if Kashmir orchardists are in trouble due to prevailing crisis, basmati growers of Jammu are also in distress due to the Pakistani firing and shelling on a regular basis besides the recent untimely rains that caused losses,” he asked.
“We are selling paddy from Rs 2,500 to Rs 3,500 per quintal to millers. The recent rains caused huge losses,” says Vijinder Singh, a farmer in the Ramgarh area of Samba district. He says if the government was quick in coming to the rescue of apple growers in Kashmir then it should have also announced MSP for basmati growers.
Uttam Sharma, another farmer in Bishnah, says successive governments in Jammu and Kashmir have failed to give an impetus to the basmati of Jammu. “Basmati 370 has both length and aroma but its harvest is lesser compared to Basmati Pusa 1121. Ironically, no government has been able to tap the potential of basmati grown in the region. Though erratic, basmati from here has been exported to the Gulf and the US in the past,” he says.
PROCESS INITIATED
Agriculture production department director PS Rathore says, “The domain to assess losses lies with the disaster management relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction and the revenue departments. The process has been initiated.”
“Our job is to coordinate with them by taking a crop cut and compare it with an average yield to assess the losses. Recently, there were rains and windstorms that thinned rice grain but we have reports that except Samba, there were no significant losses to paddy in other areas,” he says.
Rathore says that his department has the mandate of providing technical knowhow, creating awareness and disseminating other inputs to the basmati growers for increasing their yield and the aspect of marketing has to be looked after by corporations, JK Agro, being one of them.
“But the agriculture production department for the first time has decided to go for branding of high-value crops, including the basmati of Jammu, for which Rs 60 lakh has been earmarked,” says Rathore.
“We have asked 15 commodity interest groups under National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) to come with an action plan for branding their produce, say for example in Delhi and elsewhere. We will directly provide them funds but if proposals don’t come to us then we will rope in the Indian Institute of Management, Jammu, to give us an action plan to promote such brands, including basmati,” says Rathore.
AREA UNDER BASMATI TO GO UP
Yadwinder Singh Sasan, the programme officer in the agriculture department said that in 2017-18, 61,000 hectares was cultivated with Basmati 370 and Basmati Pusa 1121 varieties.
“Basmati 370, the best variety, was cultivated on 53,000 hectares and Pusa 1121 on 8,000 hectares. The harvest that year was 1.06 lakh metric tonnes and 26,000 metric tonnes, respectively,” says Sasan.
Despite the rains, he says the harvest of both varieties is to be around 1.4 lakh metric tonnes for 2019-20.
“A total of 65,000 hectares was cultivated with basmati varieties, including Basmati 370 on 55,000 hectares and Basmati Pusa 1121 on 10,000 hectares. This year, we expect the harvest to be 1.4 lakh metric tonnes,” he says.
The department has decided to increase the cultivation of basmati rice to 80,000 hectares in four years. “Last year, the basmati of Jammu was given GI tag by the Geographical Indications Registry,” he adds.
Box
FACT CHECK
*Basmati, grown on about 60,000 hectares in the plains of Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts, is known for its unique aroma, sheen, soft and fluffy texture when cooked.
*Among the varieties of basmati grown in the plains of Jammu are Sugandha, Sanwal Basmati, Ranbir Basmati, RR-564 and Pusa number 1.
*The soil structure and basmati varieties grown in Jammu region have natural tolerance to ward off bugs and unlike other basmati-growing states, the per hectare use of pesticides is less in Jammu region.
*The agriculture department has set up an organic basmati rice cluster in Suchetgarh near the border in RS Pura where organic basmati is produced.
Blurb: Allege raw deal by successive governments as compared to Kashmir in tapping potential, declaring MSP
