Mother Nature has showered many bounties on human beings, animals and plants.
Can we imagine the variety of flowers, fruits and crops that adorn the globe? It is amazing. In particular, our country is bestowed with the choicest of these bounties. It is the soil, the climate, the waters and above all the toiling masses of India that make her nature gracious and prolific. This apart, our State is not behind any other part of the country in making its mark for becoming the beneficiary of nature. While saffron and vast varieties of fruits from Kashmir valley, precious pashmina wool from the Chang Thang goats in the heights in Ladakh hardly beggar any description, Jammu region has its share of nature’s bounty in the shape of the “scented pearl” or Basmati rice grown in RS Pora belt generally called the rice bowl of Jammu. This fabulously rare quality of long grain aromatic rice is grown for many centuries in the specific geographical area of Jammu’s rice bowl. This extra-long slender grain elongates at least twice of its original size with a characteristics soft and fluffy texture upon cooking. It is liked for its extraordinary delicious taste, superior aroma and distinct flavor. Basmati rice is unique among other aromatic long grain rice varieties. Agro- climatic conditions of the specific geographical area as well as method of harvesting, processing and aging make it a unique product that has earned world market. Owning to its unique characteristics the “scented pearl” lends a touch of class that can transform even the most ordinary meal into a gourmet’s delight.
Over the years, as the popularity of Basmati increased and people in many countries developed taste for this special grain, it gradually began to become a strong foreign exchange earning product. With that, more and more land in RS Pora began to be brought under cultivation. The farmers developed expertise in its cultivation and marketing and the State Department of Agriculture also began making input in increasing the quality and quantity of the product so as to win foreign exchange massively.
Basmati is a tender crop and as such is exposed to climatic and weather impact. India is the leading exporter of Basmati rice to the global market. The country has exported 37,02,260.12 MT of Basmati Rice to the world worth Rs. 27,597.87 crore rupees during the year 2014-15. A survey of the Agriculture Ministry shows that the major export destinations of superior Indian Basmati are Saudi Arabia, Iran and United Arab Emirates. A fraction of Indian Basmati is also imported by the US and some European countries. Iran is the largest Basmati rice importer, accounting for around 60-65 per cent of total premium rice exports from India.
For the reason of vagaries of weather and other reasons as well, our basmati rice exports declined by over six per cent at 2.57 million tons during April and December 2014 as compared to 2.74 million tons reported in the corresponding period last year. While country-wise bifurcation is not available, experts believe, exports to Iran has declined by 15-20 per cent this year. Although the price of the Basmati is likely to fall, yet it is estimated that this price reduction will not adversely impact the farmers and producers because they will compensate their losses by increasing production. Basmati has a large home market and the purchasing capacity of Indians has increased manifold. Government should come forward in making some policy to help the basmati growers at this time so that Basmati cultivation does not decrease. At the current price scenario, basmati rice exports are expected to decline by 10% more soon. A threat to the production of Basmati in Jammu is posed by farmers converting Basmati producing arable land into dry land for construction of houses, malls and other structures. This is bound to have adverse impact on the quantity of production and consequential loss of foreign exchange to the country. In view of these possibilities, it is important that the Government intervenes and arrests more conversion of arable land in Basmati bowl in Jammu.