GI tag: Rice to shine, transform Bastar region

Raipur: The Chhattisgarh government has initiated measures to get the Geographic Indication (GI) tag for the famed aromatic rice variety “Loktimachi”.

The tribals of Bastar savour this fine aromatic rice only on celebratory occasions like at weddings or during festivals. Otherwise, coarse rice is their staple diet.

The GI tag move will help save the traditional aromatic rice variety of Bastar from extinction while giving a boost to the economy of the impoverished tribal region. The deprivation of tribals has largely been caused by three-decade-long Leftwing extremism.

“We are in the process of compiling historic and scientific evidence to establish its geographical origin to Bastar. We are going to file for GI for the variety soon,” Akash Badave, spokesman of the Chhattisgarh agriculture department told this newspaper.

Loktimachi, as it is called in local parlance, is one of the three known major aromatic rice varieties grown by tribals in south Bastar districts of Dantewada, Narayanpur, Bijapur, and Kondagaon.

The rice variety is named after a species of honeybee in tribal Halwi dialect. A particular enzyme found in the slender rice makes the cooked food non-sticky and hence a culinary delight.

The aromatic rice commands higher price (Rs 50-55 per kg) than the common rice (Rs 30-35 per kg) in the region.

However, agriculture scientists are concerned about the fast shrinking of the traditional Loktimachi growing areas.

The yield of Loktimachi is found hardly 10 quintal per hectare, making it an economically unviable option for the farmers, said a scientist.

Loktimachi is an inseparable part of the tribal culture as the indigenous people do not celebrate any festival without a recipe of the scented rice, said Dr H.K. Patra, associate professor of Shaheed Gundadhur College of Agriculture and Research at Jagdalpur, headquarters of Bastar.

The crop is grown in some remote areas of south Bastar, predominantly in Dantewada region. Local tribals cultivate the crop primarily for consumption at home.

“A small patch of agriculture land has been earmarked for growing the crop by the tribal farmers. In the rest of the lands, common rice varieties are cultivated. Only manure and herbal insecticides, made of forest produce, are used to grow the crop,” he said.

According to Jagdalpur-based ethnologist Naresh Chandrakar, only well-off families in the villages cultivate this crop. In fact, it signifies the social status of the tribal farmer.

“The know-how of growing the crop has passed on to the next generations through oral history. Our forefathers were growing the crop and we continue the agricultural tradition,” said tribal farmers Mahadev Netam, 72, of Binjam village.