When Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about the medicinal value of black rice and termed it as a superfood during 32nd International Conference of Agricultural Economists (ICAE) recently, someone sitting in the western part of Assam, beyond the horizon of most of the agro economists present in the conference, was smiling and thanking his stars. This proud farmer was Upendra Rabha who has single handedly made this variety of rice universal in Assam.
It is also no coincidence that black rice is an indigenous variety of North East India mostly cultivated in Assam, Manipur and Meghalaya.
Black rice has long been synonymous with Rabha, a progressive farmer hailing from Amguripara village near Dudhnoi in Goalpara. This golden journey has a unique tale.
In 2011, the then Senior Scientist and Head of Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK Goalpara) Dr Uttam Kumar Baruah participated in a Krishi Mela in Rajasthan. He came to know about this variety of rice there. Out of curiosity, Baruah purchased 1kg of black paddy seeds and brought it to Goalpara. He then reached out to Dr Hari Charan Kalita, Subject Matter Specialist (Crop Science) of the KVK and discussed its potential in Assam.
“I am ready to help farmers in producing black rice. Agricultural scientists often visit our farms and offer suggestions. We are hopeful that the Government will also support us in the near future”
– Upendra Rabha
At the same time Rabha was a regular visitor to KVK. The two scientists handed over the seeds to Rabha to experiment in his field. Once he sowed the seeds, he reaped a bounty.
“About a week after sowing the seeds, I witnessed that there was sprout in a paddy. I contacted agricultural scientists for their inputs. Starting from a single paddy, 150 grams of paddy was produced in the first go. Slowly, it increased to 48 kg and then touched around 1,600 kgs, eventually production started growing multiple folds,” Rabha told this reporter reminiscing the years gone by.
In his honour, KVK Goalpara tagged the black rice produced by him as ‘Upendra Rice’.In the local market, the price of ‘Upendra Rice’ ranges from ₹100-200 per kg. It fetches a better price when sold in other parts of the country. Upendra Rice has already been exported to various places in the country and abroad. “If we get opportunities, we can innovate on the ideas we have. The contribution and cooperation of the farmers to support our journey, which started from one paddy, is undeniable,” he told Asom Barta over phone.
He said that a lot goes into getting a fair market price, understanding methodological aspects of cultivation and maintaining the quality of the rice.
“I am ready to help farmers in producing black rice. Agricultural scientists often visit our farms and offer suggestions. We are hopeful that the Government will also support us in the near future,” he said.
Rabha has been a farmer since 1985. For its incredible journey ‘Upendra Rice’, was recognised by various organisations & institutions including an ‘Assam Gaurav’ award in 2023.
Kalita, who also played an important role in the success story of Rabha, is currently working as a Senior Scientist and Head, ICAR, KVK, Longleng, Nagaland. “The agricultural revolution started by him with black rice production will encourage farmers of the State. Like Manipur, farmers of Assam should seek technical assistance to maintain the quality of black rice,” he told this newsletter.
