GUWAHATI: Change in consumer habit and marketing preferences have often resulted in many varieties of traditional rice of the northeast getting lost in the mists of time as they failed to compete with the current high-yielding types. Two entrepreneurs from Assam — Chiranjib Sharma and Biju Borgohain — have not only stepped up to revive these heritage varieties, but take it to a global level.
Rice has been the staple of Assam since the Ahoms came in as they preferred soft glutinous rice like the Bora, different types of “chakua” rice, including the “Suagmoni”, “Bau” (Red rice) and “Ahu”. Sharma and Borgohain are aiming to collect these forgotten breeds of rice and then make it commercially available for the people of Assam and other states.
As their first step towards the revival, the duo has already readied some of the varieties, including the Assam Red Rice (Bau Chaul) and Manipuri Black Rice (Chakhao), for export. The major importers of Black Rice are the United States and other European countries, and for Red rice are Malaysia, Singapore and Japan. Apart from Assam, they are also trying to accumulate some old varieties from other parts of the northeast, like Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Manipur.
“Assam has always been known for its unique technique of cultivation. From Ahoms, the cultivation process has taken a specific rhythm and produced varieties of rice, like Joha, Chakua, Bau, Ahu, and Suagmoni among others. Some of them even date back to the 17th century,” Borgohain said. He added, “These famous and nutritious varieties have slowly lost their importance because of tough competition from imported hybrids.”
Apart from rice, they are also working on other indigenous by-products of rice, like “chira”, “sandah”, “akhoi”, “hurum”, and various “pithas”, besides promoting Arunachali “chunga cah” and Meghalaya’s juicy pineapples.