Lok Sabha Question No. 506 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-02-06
Subject: Indigenous Varieties of Rice
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: ANTO  ANTONY

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH & EDUCATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 506

TO BE ANSWERED ON 06/02/2018

## INDIGENOUS VARIETIES OF RICE

## 506. SHRI ANTO ANTONY:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE d`f"k vkSj fdlku dY;k.k ea=h be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  any  record  regarding  survival  of  the  indigenous varieties of rice in the country;
- (b) if so, the details thereof, State-wise;
- (c) whether  the  Government  has  taken  note  of  the  fact  that  almost  1,04,000  out  of 1,10,000 indigenous varieties of rice have disappeared from paddy fields during the last fifty years;
- (d) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor; and
- (e) the steps being taken by the Government to preserve indigenous varieties of rice of the country?

## A N S W E R

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE d`f'k vkSj fdlku dY;k.k ea=ky; esa jkT; ea=h

(SHRI GAJENDRA SINGH SHEKHAWAT)

(a) & (b): ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR), New Delhi is the nodal institute at national level for collection, characterization, evaluation, conservation and exchange of plant genetic resources. The conserved indigenous/traditional  varieties at NBPGR are multiplied as per the viability aspects of the seeds and seeds of these varieties are shared with scientists on request. NBPGR has conserved  more  than  45,000  indigenous  varieties/traditional  cultivars  of  rice  from different states in the National Genebank (NGB) for long-term storage ( Table 1 ).

(c) to (e): ICAR-NBPGR, since its inception is conducting exploration for collection and conservation of the indigenous varieties of rice from different parts of the country and as a result, more than 45,000 indigenous varieties of rice have been conserved in its National Genebank for long-term storage.

In  addition,  under  PPV&FR  Act,  2001,  the  Protection  of  Plant  Varieties  & Farmers  Rights  Authority  (PPV&FRA),  New  Delhi  grants  Intellectual  Property  Rights (IPR) to farmers' varieties which are traditionally cultivated and evolved by the farmers which  also  include  wild  relatives,  land  races  of  crops  about  which  farmers  possess common knowledge. So far, PPV&FRA has received 6305 applications in case of rice of which  5526  applications  are  exclusively  from  farmers.  Till  now,  1475  registration certificates  have  been  issued  in  case  of  rice  of  which  about  1200  IPRs  are  granted  to farmers.

Further to encourage the farmers for conserving the indigenous/local varieties, the PPV&FR Authority annually confers Plant  Genome Saviour Awards (Rs. 10 Lakhs to each of the five farming communities), Plant Genome Saviour Farmer Rewards (Rs. 1.5 Lakhs to each of the 10 farmers) and Plant Genome Saviour Farmers Recognition (Rs. 1 Lakhs to each of the 20 farmers). So every year 35 awards amounting to Rs. 85 Lakhs are awarded  to  Farmer(s)/Farming  Communities  for  encouraging  them.  So  far  total  124 awards have been conferred to Farmer(s)/Farming Community.

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## The number of unique indigenous landraces of rice collected and conserved from different states

| States                       |   No. of unique indigenous rice varieties |
|------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|
| 1. Arunachal Pradesh         |                                       723 |
| 2. Assam                     |                                      2419 |
| 3. Andaman & Nicobar Islands |                                        21 |
| 4. Andhra Pradesh            |                                      3197 |
| 5. Bihar                     |                                       863 |
| 6. Chhattisgarh              |                                     19098 |
| 7. Delhi                     |                                        58 |
| 8. Goa                       |                                       103 |
| 9. Gujarat                   |                                       246 |
| 10.Haryana                   |                                        12 |
| 11.Himachal Pradesh          |                                       236 |
| 12.Jammu and Kashmir         |                                        46 |
| 13.Jharkhand                 |                                       225 |
| 14.Karnataka                 |                                       464 |
| 15.Kerala                    |                                      1306 |
| 16.Madhya Pradesh            |                                      4628 |
| 17.Maharashtra               |                                       454 |
| 18.Manipur                   |                                       648 |
| 19.Meghalaya                 |                                       359 |
| 20.Mizoram                   |                                        96 |
| 21.Nagaland                  |                                       511 |
| 22.Odisha                    |                                      6416 |
| 23.Punjab                    |                                        57 |
| 24.Rajasthan                 |                                       238 |
| 25.Sikkim                    |                                        46 |
| 26.Tamil Nadu                |                                       578 |
| 27.Tripura                   |                                       367 |
| 28.Uttar Pradesh             |                                       805 |
| 29.Uttarakhand               |                                       412 |
| 30.West Bengal               |                                       422 |
| 31.Others                    |                                        53 |
| Total                        |                                     45107 |

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