Chinnor Rice Balaghat: First agricultural produce from MP to get GI Tag

Madhya Pradesh's Chinnor Rice has won its legal battle to get the Geographical Indication (GI) Tag. It is a major boost for the farmers of the district of Balaghat where the local brand of rice happens to be the Chinnor rice. It is known for its fragrance and softness along with its taste.

GI Tag for Chinnor Rice: Why is it important?

This is the first GI Tag for any agricultural produce of MP. It is expected to help a lot in revival of the traditional variety of rice beyond basmati. Chinnor rice happens to be the finest variety in comparison to Basmati rice.

About Chinnor Rice:

It is produced in Balaghat, Lalbarra and Waraseoni. About 2700 farmers cultivate the rice variety. It is cultivated in an area of 1525 hectares producing almost 1980 tonnes of paddy.

The rice has a speciality that it has a specific aroma even when it is uncooked and has a delightful taste. The aroma grows when it is cooked. As per the farmers the Chinnor variety is derived from Chiknaiyukt Nokdaar Sugandhit Chavur where 'Chi' stands for chiknaiyukt, 'No' stands for nokdar, 'ra' comes from chavur in the local language of the place.

Balaghat happens to be the rice bowl of Madhya Pradesh which produces the finest variety of indegenious rice in the country. The rice when cooked is soft, white in color and somewhat sticky. It tastes sweet and is easily digestible. The aroma from the rice resembles popcorn. “They include the length of the plant (about 170 cm) long, duration of the crop (160 days) and fall of the rice bale and lodging of the plant because of its length during the cultivation period”, said Dr Uttam Bisen, a scientist at the Balaghat Agriculture College.

Cultivation of Chinnor Rice:

The cultivation of this rice requires well prepared fields and extra care. The fields must be well watered and must be taken extra care of to maintain the purity of the grain. The organic manure is applied for its cultivation and to maintain the taste and smell of the rice. To maintain the originality of the rice variety called Chinnor, the cultivators pick the panicles of the crop from the field before harvesting it and put them for drying. Then this dried seed bulk is threshed and kept for future use (sowing for next year) It is also said that Chinnor was grown historically in Madhya Pradesh's tribal region, as the historical documents suggest.

Chinnor Rice: Other Details

The rice is also grown with the name of Bhandara Chinnor in Virbhadra region of Maharashtra. It was from here too that the farmers had applied for the GI tag with ICAR, Hyderabad. But this became the first GI Tag for an agricultural project in MP.