The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-National Rice Research Institute (NRRI) in Cuttack has developed bio-fortified rice varieties, which could go a long way in alleviating malnutrition.
The newly developed CR Dhan 310 is the first high protein (10.3 per cent) rice variety of India.
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Similarly, CR Dhan 315 was released with high zinc content (25 ppm) for Gujarat and Maharashtra while CR Dhan 311 (Mukul) has been released as nutrient-rich variety with high grain protein (10.1 pc) and Zn (20 ppm) content and CR Dhan 411 (Swarnanjali) was released in Odisha as ‘high protein Swarna’ with 10 pc protein content, said ICAR officials.
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Meanwhile, ICAR-NRRI signed nine MoUs with private companies and Farmers’ Producer Companies (FPCs) for large scale seed production and marketing of these bio-fortified rice varieties.
High protein rice in the mid-day meal programme can give health benefits to under privileged school-going children in villages of rural India. Such rice varieties can significantly contribute to the Rice based food products industry. They have enormous potential to increase productivity, profitability and sustainability of rice.
Rice is the staple food for more than 70 per cent of the population of India. During the process of milling and polishing the majority of the essential micronutrients such as iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) and important vitamins of rice grain are lost.
Rice is also relatively low in protein content (7-8 pc) as compared to other cereals such as wheat, barley and other millets. Protein-energy malnutrition is prevalent among children dependent on rice. Bio-fortification in rice could be a game changer for those who have very limited choices of dietary resources and can also address the malnutrition issue, added the officials.
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