Govt Begins Basmati Crop Survey to Estimate Expected Yield During Crop Year 2022-2023

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry's Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has begun a Basmati crop survey to estimate acreage, assess crop health, and forecast aromatic and long grain rice yields during the 2022-2023 Kharif crop season using climate-based yield modelling.

The Basmati crop survey is being held after a two-year hiatus because it could not be held in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid-19 restrictions. Basmati rice is a geographically indicated (GI) agricultural product that commands a premium on the global market.

The survey is being carried out by the APEDA-affiliated Basmati Export Development Foundation (BEDF). The final survey report is expected to be completed by December of this year.

According to the survey model, a field-based and satellite imagery survey is being conducted on the basis of a sample group of farmers chosen at the district level in seven Basmati producing states: Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, western Uttar Pradesh (30 districts), and three districts in Jammu and Kashmir.

GPS points will be recorded to determine accuracy levels, and each farmer will be photographed while participating in the survey. Exports of Basmati rice increased by 25.54 percent to USD 1.15 billion in April-June 2022-23, compared to USD 922 million in the same months last fiscal.

APEDA is assisting state governments in promoting Basmati rice cultivation through the BEDF. Farmers are informed about the use of certified seeds, good agricultural practices, and the prudent use of pesticides through various awareness programmes organized by APEDA and BEDF in order to meet international standards.

Basmati rice cultivation is an Indian tradition, and it is our collective responsibility to keep this tradition alive, as there is a high demand for Basmati rice in the global market. Farmers have also been encouraged to register with basmati.net via the State Agriculture Department.

BEDF, in collaboration with the rice exporters associations of Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh, as well as concerned state agriculture universities and state agriculture departments, has organized 75 awareness and training programmes in the seven states to encourage farmers to grow high-quality Basmati rice. BEDF also serves as a technical partner for various FPOs, exporter associations, and other organizations in key growing states.

In the last three years, India has exported Basmati worth nearly USD 12 billion. Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Yemen, the United Arab Emirates, the United States of America, Kuwait, the United Kingdom, Qatar, and Oman will account for nearly 80% of total aromatic long-grained rice shipments from India in 2021-22.

Basmati rice is one of India's most important agricultural exports. India exported 4.63 million MT of Basmati rice worth USD 4.02 billion in 2020-21. Basmati rice exports have more than doubled in the last decade, with 2.17 million MT exported in 2009-10.

(Inputs from PIB)