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Agriculture | Bengal's rice revivalists -Indrajit Sen

Bengal's rice revivalists -Indrajit Sen

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published Published on Aug 1, 2017   modified Modified on Sep 26, 2017
-Mumbai Mirror

A behind the scenes look at what’s driving the region’s return to traditional paddy techniques. It’s certainly not the global shift towards organic cultivation.

A recent study conducted by Harvard University has established that consuming just one cup of white rice (polished rice) a day can put you at risk of diabetes, regardless of your nationality or whether you have a family history of the disease. Bhairav Saini lives in Bankura, about 200 km from Kolkata, and he doesn’t need a Harvard study to tell him the obvious. For several years now, farmers such as Saini, and several others in Hooghly, Dinajpur and 24 South Parganas, in West Bengal, have been engaged in reviving lost, indigenous paddy varieties of Bengal, simply because they’re cognizant of the health benefits of grains grown the traditional way.

In a serene remote village of Bankura, a group of farmers is tirelessly growing 50 varieties of Bengal’s indigenous paddy organically. For those who love their daily dose of rice, their passion comes as a blessing, for their efforts will likely have a long-term impact on the way India eats.

Neither Saini, the farmer behind the revival of Bengal’s traditional style of paddy cultivation, nor his fellow farmers have read the Harvard report titled ‘White Rice Consumption and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes: Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review,’ that’s been published in the British Medical Journal. But, they do know from experience, how organic traditional rice cultivated in Bengal in the past, addressed health issues and that the consumption of those grains kept the people of the land healthy.

Saini is a typical son of the soil. Slim, dark with rough hands that bear signs of tilling, he appeared at first sight like any ordinary farmer of rural Bengal. But he’s also a dreamer, one who dared to grow the low-yield variety of indigenous paddy, and return to the ancient, organic farming techniques. This was indeed a leap of faith, for Saini was neither brought around to the idea by an urban scientist, nor did he study agriculture in some foreign university or decide to take up organic farming as a status symbol like his profiteering peers in North and Western India. Instead, it was his concern for the health of his family and fellow villagers that made him revive indigenous paddy varieties of Bengal. These have a high mineral and vitamin content along with other health benefits.

Saini has not only experimented on his own farm, he has successfully inspired fellow farmers over the last 12-14 years to give up growing hybrid, pesticide-laced poison seeds and move on to organic paddy farming with seeds that we never knew existed. So, today, 50 farmers practise organic paddy farming on 150 bighas of land, growing 50 different varieties of crop. Burdwan, the rice bowl of Bengal now grows organic Gobindobhog rice in over 30,000 hectares of land. Besides Gobindobhog, other old varieties of scented rice like Radhatilak, Kalonunia, Kalojeera, Tulsimukun etc are also gaining popularity slowly.

When it comes to fragrant rice, farmers prefer to go the organic way because any use of chemical fertilisers or pesticides dilutes the natural aroma of the folk product. “We have also realised these paddy varieties are low cost as we do not use pesticides and fertilisers, only our own organic manure. Now, our paddy can be sold in markets at a higher price than pesticide laced hybrid varieties,” Saini says. Like Bankura, there are some more clusters in Hooghly, Dinajpur and South 24 Parganas that grow organic paddy. But Saini’s relentless pursuit to provide people with healthy organic rice is unique.

Also unique was the way the farmers have taken to the old ways. Not one complained about the low yield or how the grains are sometimes destroyed by pachyderms descending from the Dalma Hills. For them, it is a matter of pride when people from far-off Haryana and Chandigarh come to buy their Kaala bhat (black rice) or Gandheshwari (aromatic rice). Their spirit is matched in its novelty by the names of the varieties of grains they’re reviving: Bohurupee, Leelabati, Durga bhog, Oli, Radhunipagol, Kalo nunia, Katari bhog, Radha tilak, Kalash and so on.

Well-known seed conservationist Debal Deb, had initially helped Saini and his fellow farmers in seed transfer and they often exchanged seeds on a barter system. Deb is an iconic figure in seed conservation here, having trained farmers and activists to take up the cause of protecting and preserving the organic/folk varieties. The West Bengal government through its bio-diversity board has also been encouraging farmers across Bengal to preserve seeds and it has set up seed banks in Ramnagar and west Midnapore. The passion runs so high in Panchal, that even the village music teacher, an exponent of Bishnupur gharana music gave away his almirah in his bedroom to store seeds and make a seed bank.

I’m escorted to an experimental corn field, where Bhairav is trying to produce 21 varieties of corn. The yield is closely monitored so that none of the farmers are tempted to use ground water that might be contaminated with arsenic or lead. Instead, they depend on the monsoon for irrigation.

Later, at Saini’s home, I’m served rice from their fields, Dehradun Gandheshwari, with potol bhaja, teeler bora (sesame seed), posto aloo (potato in poppy seeds), saag bhaja, rounded off with scores of wild mushrooms typically eaten by the tribals of Bankura. The rice is of such superior quality, that it digests in no time. The words of Panchu babu, Saini’s fellow farmer come back to me: “I eat Kalash. It has cured my acidity problem.”

The drive back to Durgapur is picturesque, but all I can think of is returning to these fields and introducing Saini’s organic produce to the urbanites of Kolkata. Till then, I shall dream of that mud hut and the aroma of Bhairav’s organic paddy.

GROWING HEALTH

• Dui Satin rice is fluffy and light, like cotton and it takes time to metabolise. So, it keeps one feeling sated for a long time.

• Tin Satin rice cures stomach upsets and infections.

• A diet of boiled Parmaishal, Bhootmuri or Phoolkathi rice also work wonders with tummy ailments.

• Heera-Moti, given to pregnant women for its high iron content, along with Garib-shal or Naichishal rice, makes expectant women stronger. After child birth, Kobiraj-shal rice, a rich source of iron (12 to 16 mg per 100 grams of rice) is given. Karim-shal has the highest iron content of 16 mg and zinc content of almost 46 mg. The high content of zinc also aids in the remission of diarrhea.

• Damodargetu rice is believed to increase one’s stamina.

• Kaala bhaat or black rice is rich in antioxidants. Parmaishal rice has anti-carcinogenic properties.
 
 
Mumbai Mirror, 30 July, 2017, please click here to access

Mumbai Mirror, 30 July, 2017, http://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/others/sunday-read/bengals-rice-revivalists/articleshow/59826424.cms


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