Return of Rambhog

Bid to revive and sell the aromatic indigenous paddy variety has led to substantial profits for farmers in Uttar Pradesh's Terai region

- VIVEK MISHRA

A SWEET FRAGRANCE wafts from the paddy fields as soon as one enters Daheli village in Kanpur Dehat district.

The source of the aroma is the unusually tall and thin stalks of Rambhog paddy, farmers in the village tell Down To Earth (DTE).

"The sweet smell, and taste, of Rambhog differentiates it from other paddy varieties. We had nearly forgotten about it though. I have been growing it for the past four years, after I heard that farmers were trying to revive it," says Shishupal of the village.

Some 60 villages in Kanpur Dehat and Kanpur Nagar districts, located in the Terai region of Uttar Pradesh, have worked since 2016 to restart cultivation of Rambhog, which disappeared from the fields and food plates at the turn of the century. More than 300 farmers, including urban farmers from Kanpur city, have left behind hybrid paddy crops for Rambhog.

The farmers get 60-70 per cent of the harvest processed, keep 10 per cent of this for self-consumption, and sell the rest. "There is so much demand for the rice that we can hardly keep up,” says Shishupal.

Agrees Arman Ali, chief executive officer of Ekta Nature Farming Producer Company Limited in Kanpur Nagar district. The farmer-producer company, located in Chhabbaniwada hamlet of Harnoo village, processes and sells Rambhog under its Dhanika brand for R150 per kg. “This year, we have sold 100 quintals (1 quintal is 100 kg) of Rambhog bought from the farmers. Only 40-50 quintals are left. We also have advance orders from traders in Delhi, Punjab, Ghaziabad and Kanpur, who buy the paddy from us each month,” Ali tells dte.

Farmers also sell the paddy to other brands such as Utsav Arth, which sells organic produce in Kanpur and offers Rambhog rice for R180 a kg. Since 2023, the farmers have seen earnings of about R1 lakh per acre.

ECONOMICAL CROP