Assam Agricultural University (AAU) has launched an initiative to enhance the export of traditional rice varieties of the State by making pure planting materials, such as seeds, accessible to farmers.
Undoubtedly, Dr Sanjay Kumar Chetia, AAU Director, Research and Agriculture, has highlighted that though traditional rice varieties of Joha and Bao rice, such as Kola and Kunkoni Joha, Tora and Kokua Bao, had gained acknowledgement in the international market recently, no increment has been found in the volume of Exports.
Furthermore, revealing numerous consignments exported to Asian, especially the Middle East, and European countries that were dismissed, Dr Chetia asserted that on observing the matter, the university discovered that the quality of those lots was weakened as the seeds used by the farmers were not pure.
Notably, the director stated that to eliminate these challenges and to gain the International market, the university, under the leadership of Vice Chancellor Dr Bidyut Chandan Deka, has launched an initiative to produce and supply pure seeds to the farmers; therefore, sustaining the quality of rice varieties could be furthered.
Explaining the quality of pure seeds, Dr Chetia explained that a batch of seeds can be used two to three times for cultivation, after these cycles, it becomes necessary to plant the fresh seeds He further informed that under this initiative, a pilot project has been launched in Nagaon district for Bao rice in collaboration with the UN World Food Programme, the State Government and a local Self Help Group SHG. The aim is to promote sustainable rice cultivation practices and enhance food security while empowering local farming communities through knowledge-sharing and improved access to resources. Moreover, Dr Chetia cited that AAU, in collaboration with the State Government, recently set up the first gene bank of the northeastern region. The facility conserves 7000 germplasms of rice, out of which 3000 are of traditional rice varieties.