Fragrant Rice Variety Registered Under Odisha Woman Farmer's Name

Rice variety registered under woman farmer Kadambini Behera's name who hails from Jagatsinghpur, Odisha. Kadambini stared farming two decades ago and her achievement has brought pride to her state and district.

Kadambini Behera, a female farmer from Redhua village of Raghunathpur block, Jagatsinghpur, registered the 'Lall Basna Dhan', a fragrant rice variety, under her name officially on May 15, 2022 at The Plant Varieties Registry, New Delhi. The Odisha farmer finally achieved the recognition she deserved for her extensive work to introduce new varieties of fragrant rice in the district. She had an inclination towards gardening since she was young and in 2002, she started farming officially.

Rice Variety Registered Under Woman Farmer's Name

Kadambini completed her Bachelor's degree in 1997 and soon after that, she was married. However, her marriage could not stop her from pursuing her hobby of planting. She joined one of the leading farmer's organisation situated in Redhua named Gorekhnath Krushak Mahasangha in 2002.

The organisation has been growing good quality rice in the area and Behera soon became an active member of the group. Throught the organisation, she got acquainted with Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) and National Rice Research Institute (NRRI). As she learnt more about seed production and rice breeding, she developed an inclination towards fragrant rice varieties.

Behera grew two varieties of fragrant rice under the guidance of the two government organisation, namely, Kudrat-3 and Ketakijuha. In 2017, she cross-bred the two varieties to produce a new variety and named it 'Lall Basna Dhan'. She sent it for registration to New Delhi to Plant Varieties Registry. The rice variety was registered under her name in March, 2022. This means that she has all rights to exclusively produce, sell and export this variety.

Talking about her variety, Behera reportedly said, "'Lall Basna Dhan' is not only drought resistant and waterlogging tolerant but is also high-yielding.  The grains are medium in length and the fruit duration of the plant is 125 to 130 days. It is a desi variety of rice, good in taste and fragrant. It is suitable for making rice pithas, kheer and mudhi."

Behera's motive is to help the woman SHG's in her area in the production of new paddy variety. In her mission, she is helped by her two sons, Kalyan and Koustuv, who are pursuing their Bachelor's and Master's in Science from OUAT.

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