Jammu: Jammu is home to the world's best Basmati rice and what makes it unique from other parts of north India is its aroma which has no match all over the world.
The traditional Basmati rice is grown on over 60,000 hectares of land from the Chhamb belt on the north-west of Jammu city and is spread up to the Lakhanpur area of Kathua district, south of the winter capital.
There are over a dozen varieties of Basmati grown but a few famous brands are 370, 1121 and RH30 which are cultivated particularly in border belts of Jammu district including Ranbir Singh Pura, Suchetgarh, Bishnah, Marh and Akhnoor. The overall production of Basmati in Jammu plains goes beyond 30,000 metric tons which becomes the backbone of the economy of Jammu and Kashmir.
Talking to ETV Bharat, Director Agriculture Jammu, Arvinder Singh Reen said that Basmati rice of Jammu is a GI tagged in the general category of rice alongside Punjab of the Indian side and also Pakistani Punjab.
"What makes Jammu Basmati different is its aroma which has no match anywhere in the world. Traditionally the size of the Basmati plant here has been long and the size of rice is moderately long. Though the size of rice from Punjab and other parts of the country may be a bit long as compared to Jammu Basmati but what makes us stand way ahead of others is its aromatic nature," Reen said.
Reen informed that the department of agriculture is trying for a special GI tag for Jammu Basmati which will preserve its unique nature and buyers from all over the world will have direct access to it.
To promote the unique nature of Basmati rice, the Jammu and Kashmir Trade Promotion Organisation (JKTPO), a Public Sector Unit (PSU) of Jammu & Kashmir government headed by its Managing Director Khalid Jahangir is organising a Basmati festival in Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKAUST) Jammu where besides the officials of J&K government, Basmati growers, buyers, university scientists and general public will be coming to attend it.
"The main aim of the festival is to promote the uniqueness of Jammu's Basmati rice. During the festival Director JKTPO will give the overview of the festival and a buyer-seller meet has been organised where buyers from all over the country will be participating. They will get the chance to go through the different types of Basmati rice and around 23 stalls have been kept where they can buy as well," said Sourabh Sharma, General Manager of JKTPO.
"A panel discussion will be organised where experts and scientists of SKAUST Jammu will deliver their findings about the Basmati rice. The purpose is to increase the export of local Basmati rice," the GM JKTPO added.
Jammu's Basmati rice is used to cook Biryani, Pulao, Sweet-rice and other things and is exported to different countries as well.
To give a first-hand account of Basmati specialities to the visiting guests, JKTPO has roped in a chef of the KC group of hotels Sanjeev Kumar, who holds PhD in Dogra cuisines, to cook around six types of Basmati rice and people can consume it for free.
There are many issues connected with its export and promotion which the government has been trying to address.
Reen informed that there is very little scope available for growers for direct export of Basmati rice and mostly buyers from other states buy it and take it for processing in their units to make it brown, polished and unpolished before exporting.
"The lack of processing units in Jammu becomes a roadblock in direct export from here and despite having our own growth and product, the export data falls into the lap of other states like Punjab and Haryana, who buy it from Jammu," Reen said.
He said the agriculture department and JKTPO are working to ensure the local export increases and dependency on buyers from outside decreases.
