The debate over whether new varieties of aromatic long grained rice should be labelled basmati or not is becoming shriller.The National Commission on Farmers is against giving away the basmati tag to these new varieties. The government is also leaning towards this point of view. But crop scientists and exporters want the definition of basmati to be more accommodating.The commission’s second report called ‘Crisis to Conflict’, which was presented to the agriculture ministry recently, has recommended that the agriculture ministry and the Indian Council of Agriculture Research evolve a policy so that the basmati tag is used only for ‘‘traditional fine grain aromatic rices of antiquity of a specific geographic origin.’’Basmati is India’s most important agriculture export and earns foreign exchange worth Rs 2,000 crore.The commission says basmati, which is traced back to the 18th century, is being ‘‘threatened’’ by new high yielding long grain aromatic varieties. The report says these newcomers are being mixed with basmati and that this is affecting export.‘‘In the second report, we have recommended that the matter should be looked into,’’ said Dr M.S. Swaminathan, chairperson of the National Commission on Farmers on the sidelines of a seminar on basmati.On September 2, the commission will make a presentation before agriculture minister Sharad Pawar on the recommendations of the report.The report, however, says that research on aromatic long grain should continue and that it should be able to stand on its own as it has good market potential.There are two categories of basmati. The traditional variety which can be traced back to Heer Ranjha poems and the 18th Century. The second, called evolved basmati, is the result of research and in which one immediate parent is a traditional basmati. In traditional basmati only one of the six variety is popular. So too in the evolved basmati where only one out of the five variety—Pusa Basmati 1 which accounts for 64 per cent of basmati exports— rules the popularity charts.One of the reasons crop scientists want the new rice varieties to be called basmati is so that basmati research continues in the country. Then of course, there is the export consideration.‘‘Our view is that certain quality that makes basmati — a certain length, elongation of two times on cooking, fragrant, very fluffy — that as long as these parameters are met it should be called basmati. It should be based on quality characteristic and not insist on immediate parentage,’’ said Dr A.K. Singh, senior scientist in genetics division of Indian Agriculture Research Institute. He added, ‘‘Exporters of improved varieties don’t get the same advantages as basmati exporters. This means that programmes that are targetted at improving basmati would come to an end.’ European Union gives $200 per tonne of subsidy for imported basmati rice, but not for aromatic long grained varieties.As far as safeguarding India’s basmati interest, the government has so far failed to include it in the geographical indicator list like champagne and scotch. Once basmati is included in the list, then rice grown outside of the notified geographical area cannot be called basmati. India has been trying to get Pakistan to file a joint application but there is a debate on what constitutes a basmati area. Even within the country there is a difference of opinion on this.
