Millions of farmers across eastern India, particularly in Orissa and West Bengal, are now more confident of facing the devastation that recurring floods cause to their standing crop.
Thanks to a new rice variety, developed and released by the Cuttack-based Central Rice Research Institute (CRRI), farmers in these calamity-prone areas are getting more adept on handling the crisis. For, the crop is unaffected even if under water for two weeks.
Named after gold, Swarna Sub1 was released in 2009. Today, over two years, the variety has become one of the most sought seeds in the region. Many experts believe encouragement to the variety’s use would alter the pattern of farming in flood-prone areas.
Not only can it withstand submergence under full water for up to 15 days; as the water recedes, new shoots again come up. Overall, the crop gives an average yield of around 3.5 tonnes per hectare.
“Swarna Sub1 is different from other existing varieties,” says T K Adhya, a former director of CRRI. “For, while other paddy varieties would fail to give any yield if submerged in water for such a long time, this one gives an average yield that is much better than the others.” For a farmer who takes floods as being a sure sign of complete loss, this id a boon.
Some seeds were made available to CRRI by the Manila-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in 1998. Since then, scientists from CRRI undertook extensive tours to develop a variety which could be withstand Indian flood conditions. It took almost 10 years to develop Swarna Sub1. It had to be a variety which could adjust to Indian flood conditions, Adhya told Business Standard. In India, 47 per cent of the net sown area of 141 million ha is rain-fed. In the eastern parts, the rainfed portion is around 52 per cent of the sown area.
Adhya said five million ha of the 26.6 mha of agricultural land in eastern India are submergence-prone. “They are regularly impacted by floods. It is for the farmers of these areas that Swarna Sub1 is a godsend,” he added.
In Orissa, across the 4.6 mha where farmers grow paddy, almost a third is submergence-prone. In the perennially flood-prone districts such as Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Bhadrak and Balasore, the new variety is being sown on around half the total land under paddy. In Bihar, regularly devastated by floods in the Kosi belt, the government is contemplating releasing this variety for growers. Uttar Pradesh has released the variety for its flood-prone eastern parts and so has the Andhra Pradesh government for its flood-impacted coastal areas.
| RICE BOON FOR PADDY COUNTRY |
| What is swarna sub 1 It is a variety of paddy seed which can withstand complete submergence for up to 15 days |
| Why it is boon for farmers, particularly those in the flood-prone areas Farmers of flood-prone areas in states like Orissa and West Bengal, the seed variety has come as a boon because while in other varieties output is almost nil after submergence in water, swarna sub 1 gives an average yield of around 3.5 tonnes per hectare |
| How many farmers have adopted the seeds till now In the main submergence-prone districts of Orissa like Jagsinghpur, Bhadrak etc, almost 50 per cent of the total area under paddy is now with swarna sub 1 |
| Who has developed and released this seed variety Cuttack-based Central Rice Research Institute (CRRI) in association with International Rice Research Institute of Manila has developed and released this variety |
| Are there any private companies presently selling this seed No, there are no private companies selling this seed as it was released just two years back. But, lot many have started enquiring for the same |
| How can a private company sell this seed variety Private companies and state seed association willing to sell this seed variety need to take the breeder seeds from CRRI at a minimal charge and then multiply and sell |
| What is total size of Indian seed market and what is the share of paddy seeds in them The Indian seed market is roughly valued at Rs 8,500 cr of which paddy varieties account for around Rs 700 cr. The Rs 700 cr includes both hybrid and open pollinated paddy seeds |
