High-tech survey to assess basmati rice output amid patchy monsoon

No surveys were done in the previous two years due to Covid-related disruptions, and this year’s estimation should give a far more accurate picture of the aromatic basmati, as it’s being done using high-tech forecasting tools, such as climate modelling and satellite imaging, an official said.

India is assessing its basmati rice, a prized farm-export commodity, with advanced technologies to estimate acreage, crop health, output and yields, an official said amid an anticipated lower summer paddy output due to a patchy monsoon.

India is assessing its basmati rice, a prized farm-export commodity, with advanced technologies to estimate acreage, crop health, output and yields, an official said amid an anticipated lower summer paddy output due to a patchy monsoon. (Getty Images/Representative use)

No surveys were done in the previous two years due to Covid-related disruptions, and this year’s estimation should give a far more accurate picture of the aromatic long-grain crop, as it’s being done using high-tech forecasting tools, such as climate modelling and satellite imaging, an official said.

Basmati rice, grown in seven states with a geographical indication (GI) tag, fetches a premium market abroad. Overseas sales increased 25.54% in the April-June 2022-23 period to stand at $1.15 billion, compared to $922 million worth of basmati shipments in the corresponding months of the previous year, according to official data.

Fields are being scanned by satellites, and ground surveys are being carried out at district levels in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, western Uttar Pradesh (30 districts) and three districts of Jammu & Kashmir.

The survey is being done by the Basmati Export Development Foundation (BEDF), an arm of the commerce ministry-run APEDA or Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority. APDEDA routinely advises farmers on selecting certified seeds and judicious application of pesticides to meet strict export norms, the official said.

The country has exported basmati worth nearly $12 billion in the last three years. Large shipments are bought by countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Yemen, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman.

According to the farm ministry’s data, as on August 26, the country’s rice acreage had shrunk nearly 6% over the corresponding period last year as the annual monsoon rains were patchy in paddy-growing states.