The export of the first consignment of 25 MT of GI-tagged Joha rice from Assam to markets in the United Kingdom and Italy last month has triggered hopes for unlocking premium market opportunities for the indigenous aromatic rice variety. As its productivity and yield are lower as compared to other traditional rice varieties of the state, the only way to promote its cultivation among them is an assured market of premium value. Rising demand for aromatic organic rice varieties in the global markets has opened a strategic export window for Joha rice. Smart marketing of its high food value and the GI tag can also help push Joha into a national brand in the premium segment. Official data highlights that Joha rice is cultivated primarily in Nagaon, Baksa, Goalpara, Sivasagar, Majuli, Chirang, and Golaghat districts, but the area under it is limited to around 21,000 hectares, while production was to the tune of around 43,000 MT. Compared to the total rice area of 22.86 lakh hectares in the state, the area under Joha mirrors the ground reality of farmers not being keen to grow more quantity of Joha rice. Because of the persistent demand-supply gap, the prices of Joha varieties have also increased substantially in the recent months, making it out of bounds for many middle- and low-income households. The profit is primarily pocketed by traders, and the majority of traditional Joha rice growers have failed to benefit from the price increase, which is another reason behind their reluctance to expand the area under these traditional varieties. Grooming traditional farmers as enterprising farmers can help them weigh between the volume of high-yielding varieties or the premium prices of special varieties like Joha and make the investment decisions. This, however, needs an assured market of not just one export consignment but return export orders and low-price volatility for the farmers. The traders will also gain from the demand-supply gap as it fetches them a premium wholesale price in the local markets too. Ten years prior to GI recognition (in 2017), a consignment of 17 MT of Joha rice was exported to three European countries-Germany, the UK, and Switzerland-in 2007. However, due to the ban on the export of non-Basmati rice clamped by the Government of India in 2008, the second consignment of 33 MT had to be cancelled, which adversely impacted the promotion of traditional Joha varieties. The area under Joha in 2007, when the first consignment was exported, was around 20,000 hectares. This implies that an additional area of only about 1,000 hectares was brought under Joha cultivation over the past nearly two decades-when nine years have already elapsed since the GI recognition. The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), which facilitated the first GI-tagged consignment last month, and the state government-particularly the Agriculture Department-have this harsh reality before them even as they showcase it as a success story for Joha rice. Prior to this export consignment, the APEDA also facilitated the export of one MT of GI-tagged Joha rice to Vietnam and two MT to five West Asian countries-Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, and Saudi Arabia. Nevertheless, the rising demand in the global markets has opened fresh export avenues for Joha, which needs to be leveraged optimally. The APEDA grooming local entrepreneurs of the state as exporters of Joha and other organic rice varieties, instead of relying only on exporters from outside the Northeast region, can have an added benefit of promotion of the unique aromatic variety among traditional growers. While for many individual traditional rice farmers, modern marketing strategies are complicated and beyond their capabilities, Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs) under the leadership of educated and trained village youth from farm households can bridge this gap through the adoption of digital technology and integrate Joha rice farming into the organized, value-driven market. Smaller land holdings of farmers are a major hurdle for expansion of area under premium varieties of crops without assured remunerative prices. The outlook of the same set of individual farmers, when brought under an umbrella of FPC, changes fast when they are introduced to modern marketing practices such as quality control at every stage, organic certification, packaging, branding, labeling, etc., which were earlier beyond their imagination and reach. The strategy to promote Joha rice cultivation with an eye on the export and domestic market of premium rice brands, therefore, needs to be anchored on roping in FPCs in the traditional pockets of this variety. Registration of traditional Joha rice farmers needs to be prioritized to increase the brand value of their produce through use of the GI logo and tag while their traditional rights of growing this indigenous variety remain protected and cannot be exploited. APEDA's fresh initiative to tap the export market of Joha will fully realize its primary objectives only when farmers derive the maximum gain from it.