Basmati farming catching on in Kerala

KOCHI: Basmati rice cultivation is finding more takers in Kerala at a time the state is heavily dependent on rice import from other regions in the country.

Despite several difficulties like low yield and lack of special mills to process the long-grain rice, what has attracted farmers to Basmati is the higher price.

The price of Basmati is almost double that of the normal variety, which they feel will compensate for lower yield.

A few years ago, Kerala Agriculture University tried to promote Basmati rice cultivation. But it could not be grown on a sustained basis because of reasons like extra care required at harvest and the lack of mills to process this type of paddy. At present, Basmati rice is grown in several pockets of the state on a smaller scale. Recently, a group of farmers in Malappuram achieved significant success with Basmati rice cultivation. According to farmer Mohammed Haji, Basmati rice was grown in 12.5 acres and yielded 2,430 kg per acre.

Basmati rice fetches Rs 14 per kg compared with Rs 8.40 per kg for the usual rice variety. ���It is a good price at a time when it is difficult to get labourers for field work,��� Haji said. They decided to grow the rice on a large scale encouraged by the trial cultivation on 50 cents in the previous year.

Though Haji had no difficulty in finding a mill in Malappuram, another Basmati rice grower from Palakkad, Sahadevan, said marketing was the main hindrance as specialised mills are needed to process the long, slender basmati grain. At present he sells the rice to mills in Tamil Nadu. Earlier it was thought that Kerala���s climatic conditions with plenty of rain did not suit Basmati farming.