Tamil Nadu: Exporters encouraged to trade new rice varieties

Aimed at promoting export opportunities for non-basmati rice varieties, Anbil Dharmalingam Agricultural College and Research Institute (ADAC&RI) here on Wednesday conducted a workshop for farmers, entrepreneurs, and exporters.

Participants visited the sample paddy fields where the advantages of cultivating TRY3 and TRY5 rice varieties were explained.

“TRY3 variety has superiority over other varieties for idli making while TRY5 has an edge in making puttu and idiyappam dishes,” says Dr P Jeyaprakash, professor and head of the department of genetics and plant breeding.Representatives of Tamil Nadu Food Processing and Agri Export Promotion (TNAPEx) listed out steps taken by them to link farmers with exporters.

Among the participants were rice mill owners and exporters, who inquired about sourcing of TRY3 rice variety.”Export of non-basmati rice for idli and other batter-based rice products have huge demand in countries that have a south Indian diaspora.

The workshop has linked farmers, millers, and exporters to have a clear communication and to reach their goals towards export,” says V Vignesh Prabhu, chief operating officer of Trichy Agri Business Incubation Forum.Exporters including those from Canada pitched for large scale cultivation of TRY3 variety. Participants were served with idli made with TRY3 variety and puttu with TRY5 variety.

This article has been republished from The Times of India.