Black rice production begins in Assam now.

Assam soils are well suited to Black rice, which offers huge potential for commercial production. Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation project (APART), which is funded by the World Bank, has started production of new varieties of Black rice from different parts of India.

The crop is expected be harvested within the next week of the project wherein International Rice Research Institute, (IRRI), has embarked upon this ambitious collaboration under the APART. IRRI released a statement.

Black rice is one of the most popular varieties. This is due to its high nutritional content. India is a major rice-producing country and has many varieties. Each variety has its own nutritional characteristics and climate preferences.

The seeds of these varieties were sown on a total area of 17.6 bighas of land, comprising Manipuri black rice in 10 bigha, Kalavati in 3.6 bigha and Kalamalifula in 4.0 bigha as demonstration plots.

"IRRI has also introduced the crop cafeteria of the premium quality rice (PQR) varieties along with the indigenous rice varieties for comparative analysis, evaluation and selection. The purpose of the crop cafeteria is to provide an opportunity to the farmers and extension functionaries to select the best performing varieties of their preference for further adoption on their fields," said Dr Kanwar Singh, resident coordinator & Senior Associate Scientist II at the IRRI.