The fragrance of Odisha’s aromatic rice has been well received at the India International Trade Fair (IITF), New Delhi, an official said on Tuesday.

Visitors and shoppers have evinced keen interest in buying various varieties of aromatic rice harvested by Odisha farmers. More than 28 quintals of the aromatic rice varieties have been sold so far at the international trade fair, informed the official.

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The Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment of the State Government has put up stalls at the ‘Odisha Mandap’ in IITF 2024. In one of the stalls, various varieties of rice like Badshah Bhog, New Kalajeera, Sugandha are being displayed and sold among various agricultural products. A good demand for these aromatic rice varieties harvested organically at different parts of the state, has been found in the trade fair, added the official.

“International trade fairs provide a unique opportunity to showcase and sell various products. This year, we have put up various types of fragrant rice prepared by Odisha farmers at our stall. Along with this, Odisha’s popular and nutritious millet items are being enjoyed by customers in Delhi. Such participation in a national level trade fair will be a great encouragement for our farmers,” said Dr Arabinda Kumar Padhee, Principal Secretary, Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment Department of the State Government.

“The Odisha Mandap attracts us with diverse products. Also, the stalls here are selling different types of fragrant rice. We earlier took Basmati rice but here we got the fragrant new Kalajeera rice instead of Basmati,” said Madhusudan Palai, an Odia resident of Delhi who visited the Odisha Mandap.

Currently, 8 varieties of Aromatic rice are being cultivated in 13 districts of the state. For this, the Agriculture Department is providing various inputs and technical assistance to the farmers.

At the ‘Odisha Mandap’ variety of traditional and modern food items prepared under the ‘Shri Anna Abhiyan’ of the Agriculture Department are a highlight. These include millet laddu, biscuits, mixture, namkeen, noodles among others. The Odia diaspora and people from different states who visit the pavilion showed interest to buy these items.

“I bought Kandhamal turmeric from the Odisha pavilion. I also saw different types of Basmati rice. In particular, I had heard about Odisha’s Kalajeera rice before. I was happy to see it being sold here. It is very beneficial for health,” said DK Sharma from Uttar Pradesh.

As per department sources, over 1.5 quintals of millets were sold at the Odisha pavilion last year. This year, it is estimated to be 4 quintals. Likewise, around 28 Quintal of the Aromatic Rice varieties are estimated to be sold. Similarly, customers are buying turmeric, jaggery and lemon grass oil, among other agricultural products, from the Agriculture & FE Department stall.