RICE OF ASSAM

 Rice occupies about two-third of the total cropped area in Assam, the single source of agriculture GDP. Rice plays a significant role in Assam's economic status.

About 26 modern rice varieties are available in Assam for diverse eco-systems such as deep water, shallow water, irrigated and upland.

 The deep-water rice (locally called as Boa) is important in many pockets of Brahmaputra valley, thus improvisation of the production condition in this large-sized ecosystem is of urgent need. Most existing varieties are of long-duration and a very few are resistant to pests and diseases. Also only few modern varieties have the tolerance capacity to submergence. This is a serious issue considering the fact that most part of the state is ravaged by splashes of flood on a regular basis. Increased cultivation of boro paddy in rabi season could be potentially revolutionary, which is steadily spreading in the areas of assured irrigation. But the technological innovation for boro rice system needs to be followed with increased emphasis. The majority of the existing modern varieties are suitable only for kharif (winter rice) and pre-kharif (autumn) seasons. There is also need for more short-duration rice varieties so as to escape excessive rain during maturity and/or harvesting of the crop.

The basic rice research in the state, though far from adequate, has mostly been confined to the varietal development and improvement. Very little attention has been paid to the crucial areas such as sustainability, ecosystem research, efficiency, marketing etc. There are few micro-level case studies at the village level or at the block level and fewer at the district level. These case studies generally pertain to farmers’ adoption behaviour, gender, energy use pattern and impact assessment. The case studies are important for improving the production environment at the local level but hardly capable to address broader policy issues at the regional level. Studies at the zonal or regional level, based on homogenous agro-ecosystems, are very limited. Further, research in other frontier areas such as credit, constraints, risk management, crop diversification, efficiency, marketing and trade, export and socio-economics are necessary. These research areas are critical to Assam in the context of fast changing global agricultural order.