Export footprint of red rice from Majuli

The export of red rice, popularly known as Bao Dhan, from Majuli to markets in the Middle East and the European Union marks another milestone in Assam's efforts to expand its export footprint. The growing demand for the traditional rice variety in global markets also speaks volumes about the strengths of the state's agriculture sector. While the potential of traditional rice varieties often dominates development discourse in the state, initiatives to tap it fully are reflective of transformative changes in the agriculture sector. As red rice is traditionally grown organically, it has a natural advantage as a premium brand of food products. Growing popularity of red rice also has the advantage of drawing attention to various other organic produce from the state. Growing demand for organic rice in the global markets is attributed to growing health consciousness among consumers in these markets and their preference for sustainable farming practices. An increase in disposable income among consumers is another key factor behind export markets being ready to pay a premium price for organically produced food products such as red rice. Apart from being rich in nutritional value, red rice is a disaster-resilient rice variety and is submergence-resilient. Such a property of the rice variety has increased its commercial importance when climate change impacts increasing submergence and damage to other standing rice crops due to high flood situations triggered by increasing spells of large excess rain. When worsening annual floods and erosion pose a sustainability threat to rice production in the state, adoption of red rice can increase the resilience of farmers in areas affected by multiple waves of high floods by fetching premium prices in export markets. Expansion of the export footprint of this rice variety also has the potential to draw more attention towards it in the domestic markets. Tapping the domestic market of red rice will require aggressive brand building. Quality packaging and labelling play a crucial role in brand building. This is an area where the state government can collaborate with commercial entities to handhold local food entrepreneurs in tapping the potential in the domestic as well as export markets. Even though many traditional food products from Assam and other states in the Northeast region are organically produced, lack of organic certification is a huge bottleneck in fully tapping their commercial potential despite a surge in demand in domestic and global markets. Ironically, the state has a long way to go in organic certification to fully unlock the commercial potential of traditional varieties. A stronger policy push is essential to give momentum to the expansion of the export footprint of red rice and other organic produce from the state. Follow-up of policy decisions to bring about the required infrastructural and institutional changes is crucial to achieve the goals. Grooming of local exporters can bring more benefit to the state, as it can boost confidence among local youth to take a relook at the commercial potential of the agriculture sector brought about by changing food preferences of health- and environment-conscious consumers. The majority of youth in the region, barring few exceptions, consider agricultural practice as non-remunerative and migrate to other states for unskilled work, which has also impacted agricultural practices. Many traditional crop varieties and the associated traditional knowledge, like the red rice, are on the verge of being lost forever, while some of the varieties have already been lost, even when these could have given solutions to farmers facing the challenges of a rise in extreme weather events and a decline in production. Key stakeholders like the Agriculture Department, agricultural scientists, and agricultural traders recognising the gravity of the situation arising from the silent withdrawal from traditional farming practices and taking proactive measures to showcase positive stories of the export of red rice from Majuli can motivate the younger generation in the farm families to acknowledge the strength of farming, which is organic by default in the region. Sustaining the export markets of red rice from Majuli, Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, and other places will require the agriculture department, exporters, and traders to correctly project the export outlook so that farmers can plan expansion of the area under the rice variety. The farmers getting timely payment against procurement for export consignment is critical to boosting their confidence in the expansion of the area under the crop. The central and state governments supporting Assam Agricultural University and rice scientists with funding support for undertaking research on red rice to address challenges of commercial cultivation will go a long way in initiating timely scientific intervention to ensure that production of the crop remains sustainable to withstand climate change impact. Scientific documentation of the traditional wisdom of cultivating red rice and other similar disaster-resilient traditional crop varieties by universities and colleges can help build a repository of traditional knowledge for use by agricultural scientists and policy makers. The export of red rice from Majuli has opened a new window of opportunities for rice farmers and traditional rice growers in the state.