Both varieties, developed by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), Pusa, Delhi, generate financial benefits for farmers like Singh in the range of Rs.25,000 to Rs.30,000 per acre, after deducting cultivation costs and lease rental for the land.
Pritam Singh, who farms on 110 acres in Haryana’s Panipat district, recently sold his harvest of Basmati rice varieties PB 1121 and PB 1509 at the local mandi for Rs.3800 and Rs.3500 per quintal, respectively.
After deducting cultivation costs and leasing rental for the land, both varieties developed by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), Pusa, Delhi, provide farmers like Singh with financial benefits ranging from Rs.25000 to Rs.30000 per acre.
“Since the introduction of high-yielding varieties such as PB1121 and PB1509, the production as well as quality in terms of size of the Basmati rice grain has increased, bringing us economic benefits,” Singh explained.
Prior to the introduction of these two varieties, Singh stated that conventional varieties produced 12 to 13 quintal per acre, whereas the PB1121 and PB1509 varieties produced 24 and 26 quintal per acre, respectively.
While the high-yielding and larger-grained PB1121 variety was certified as Basmati rice in 2008, the shorter-maturing PB1509 variety was released in 2013.
Between 2010 and 2019, two IARI-developed Basmati rice varieties contributed 70% of the total value of India’s cumulative exports of long-grain aromatic rice worth Rs.2.38 lakh crore, benefiting farmers. During the specified time period, India exported an average of 3.74 million tonne (mt) of Basmati rice per year, out of a total production of approximately 5mt.
According to an IARI analysis of the economic value of Basmati rice, shipments of PB1121 and PB1509 rice varieties generated Rs.1.66 lakh crore in export earnings between 2010 and 2019, while domestic sales totaled Rs.51501 crore during the same period.
“Better Basmati varieties have brought wealth to millions of Basmati farmers by raising their standard of living, providing better education for children, and providing the best health care for family members,” said IARI director Ashok Kumar Singh.
From 2010 to 2019, basmati rice was grown on an average of 18.34 lakh hectares per year, with PB11121 and PB1509 accounting for 67 percent and 10% of the area, respectively. Other varieties grown by farmers include PB1, PB6, and PB1718, all of which were developed by IARI.
Major export destinations for Indian Basmati rice include Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Yemen, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as other European countries.
In 2020-21, India exported Rs.29849 crore ($4018 million) in Basmati rice.
IARI recently released improved varieties PB1847, PB1885, and PB1886, which have inbuilt resistance to bacterial blight and blast diseases. “These varieties would significantly reduce the use of pesticides in basmati cultivation,” said Ranjith Kumar Ellur, scientist, rice section, division of genetics, IARI.