BHUBANESWAR: At a time when traditional varieties of paddy are fast disappearing due to institutional promotion of high yielding varieties, the State Government chipped in to protect the rights of farmers over 760 rice species. The Agriculture Department had sent samples of the 760 varieties of paddy for registration with the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority (PPV&FRA), New Delhi. It aimed at preserving the varieties of paddy and protecting farmers’ rights. The authority has now decided to confer an award on the Director of Agriculture and Food Production RS Gopalan for the outstanding job. “The award is for promoting maximum varieties of rice for registration,” said an official communique from the authority.The award will be presented on the foundation day ceremony of the authority in Delhi on November 11.More than 1,700 varieties of paddy were recorded during a survey conducted in Jeypore region in 1970. The species, Oryza sativa (commonly known as Asian Rice) originated in the State and the name Oryza was derived from Orissa. Kala Jeera, the aromatic rice and a member of the most popular Basmati rice family, is grown in Koraput district. The Swaminathan Research Foundation is popularising the Kala Jeera in the tribal-dominated areas of other states. Credit also goes to former agriculture minister Damodar Rout who took the initiative for protection of the native varieties of paddy.The Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) has registered eight of its own varieties while the Central Rice Research Institute (CRRI) has developed 70 rice varieties till date.Only a few local varieties of paddy are now grown in the State after emergence of a number of high yielding varieties. While the local varieties have the capacity to adapt to adverse conditions like untimely rain, deficient rain, excess rain, water submergence, salinity and resistance to diseases and pest attack, the high yielding and genetically modified paddy has failed in such conditions.
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