The Hindu Business Line : Basmati experiment comes a cropper in Kerala

LACK of processing facilities and marketing support seem to have sealed the future of basmati paddy cultivation in Kerala despite successful experiments with the crop in the State's climatic and geographical conditions.

The small growers, who were motivated to experiment with cultivation of this variety of paddy, which is predominantly grown only in the northern part of the country, have now given up for want of marketing support, officials engaged in promoting basmati cultivation in the State told Business Line.

The officials said: "The experiment was successful as there was good yield while the cost of production was lower compared to that of the traditional varieties." Around 45 farmers in the Alapuzha district had grown Tarauri (variety grown in Haryana) and Pusa Basmati 1 and these varieties were found to be thriving in the area, they said.

But what had discouraged the farmers was lack of a proper procurement mechanism and processing facilities. When the cultivation was introduced some five years ago, it was decided that processing of basmati paddy would be done at the mill taken on lease by the State Farming Corporation (KSFC). The Corporation having incurred heavy loss had returned the mill on expiry of the lease period leaving the farmers to their own. Those who had ventured into cultivating basmati were happy as the yield ranged between 2 and 2.5 tonnes per hectare while the production cost was Rs 5,860 as against Rs 6,575 for traditional varieties.

The quality of the rice was very good and superior to the `biriyani (basmati) rice' sold in the State at higher prices, while that was grown here had the aroma of basmati rice. But the small growers could not use their harvest even for their own domestic consumption for want of rubber roller mills for processing. Such facilities were available in modern rice mills in the private sector but for processing in these mills there should be enough quantity of paddy.

A farmer near Thakazhi in Kuttanad said that cultivation of basmati paddy was beneficial. "Even if it is procured at Rs 15 per kg, it is remunerative. The Government had promised us that it would make arrangements to procure, but nothing has happened."

According to him, for basmati, the input cost on fertilisers and pesticides is lower compared with traditional varieties.

In fact, the farmers group was in the process of entering into a tie-up with millers in Tamil Nadu and Kerala and the Rice Research Institute at Thanjavur but nothing worked out.

Mr Kishnakumar Madathilattu, a farmer who had got a yield of 20 quintals per acre, says the potential for growing basmati in Kerala is tremendous.

According to scientists at the Thanjavur Paddy Processing Research Institute, setting up of a mill to process basmati rice would involve an investment of around Rs 1 lakh and 30-50 per cent of this cost is subsidised by the Union Ministry of Food Processing industry.

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