Bhubaneswar, Mar 7: Odisha, rice surplus state is contemplating to create an conducive eco-system for boosting up the export of non-Basmati aromatic rice from the state. The State has bumper availability for export and there are also rice aggregators in Odisha who can be trained and mobilized towards export oriented operations”, Principal advisor to the Odisha Chief Minister Asit Tripathy said.
An interactive session with different stakeholders for promoting rice export from Odisha was held here last week for opening new avenues for paddy farmers of Odisha. Presiding over the meeting Chief Secretary S C Mohapatra advised APEPA of Government of India and Directorate of Agriculture, Odisha to organize ground level workshops with rice aggregators, food exporters, and farmer producer organizations to infuse confidence in the farming community for production of export quality paddy.
Considering the paddy production potential of Odisha’s agro-climatic zones, existence of huge genetic diversity of aromatic germplasm, traditional skill of the farmers, and availability of port facilities for foreign trading, Mohapatra asked the department of agriculture and farmers’ empowerment to constitute a resource team for boosting the rice export.
It was decided that the team would visit Andhra Pradesh for gaining exposure to the actual practices adopted in export of non-basumati aromatic varieties. The Chief Secretary directed the department to frame a realistic work plan with the suggestions from the technical session of the seminar, and inputs from the resource team so that those could be carried forward.
Mahapatra directed to adopt cluster approach in promotion of the non-Basumati aromatic varieties of paddy cultivation. Chairman Western Odisha Development Council Asit Tripathy along with senior officers from Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) of India, agricultural scientists and rice exporters participated in deliberations. He also directed to identify the agro- climatic zones more suitable for cultivation of such varieties of rice and said the state is committed to enhance farmers’ income by boosting the rice export and provide all possible support for the purpose”.
The requirements like establishment of laboratory network in Odisha, creation of a rice warehouse at Paradeep port, creation of awareness about Indian and global food practices among the farmers, extension of necessary agri-inputs and technical support to the farmers for production of the non-Basunati aromatic paddy were also discussed in the meeting.
