The area under cultivation and productivity of Kalanamak rice has increased in the recent past augmenting the farmers’ income. Production in Siddharthnagar district of Uttar Pradesh has increased to more than five times during 2018 to 2025. The sale price of Kalanamak rice has also increased from Rs 40/kg in 2018 to Rs. 150/kg in 2026 resulting into more than three fold increase in profitability vis-a-vis normal rice and boosting the number of farmers cultivating Kalanamak paddy from 2915 in 2018 to 23000 in 2024.

Both the Central Government and State Governments have provided financial, technical and marketing support to Kalanamak rice farmers. Under the PM Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) and One District One Product (ODOP) Margin Money Scheme (state funded), individual micro-units and FPOs setting up Kalanamak processing/ milling units receive credit-linked capital subsidies up to 35% (max ₹10 lakh). The Government is also promoting brand Kalanamak by organising Kalanamak Mahotsavs. A Common Facility Centre (CFC) for Kalanamak rice in Siddharthnagar has been established under One District One Product (ODOP) scheme to provide local farmers with modern processing, packaging, and export-support facilities. The State Government has earmarked dedicated project funding for the promotion, production, and processing of Kalanamak rice.

National Agricultural Research System under the aegis of ICAR is involved in development of varieties and conservation of large number of land races of Kalanamak rice.  In addition to traditional Kalanamak varieties, six improved varieties viz. Kalanamak KN3. Bauna  Kalanamak  101, Bauna  Kalanamak  102, Kalanamak Kiran, Pusa Narendra Kalanamak 1 and Pusa CRD Kalanamak 2 have been released and notified. The later two dwarf high yielding varieties of Kalanamak have average yield of 4.5 tons/ha against 2.5 tons/ha of traditional varieties. State Government has also notified the KVKs in Geographical Indication (GI) area of Kalanamak for muti-location testing of new high yielding, climate resilient varieties for their release. ICAR-Institutes/ Krishi Vigyan Kendras are facilitating the farmers in registration and conservation of traditional Kalanamak rice varieties with the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights Authority, which has led to registration of more than 1700 land races and local varieties of rice.

For further increase in the area of Kalanamak rice, additional seed indents are also encouraged under Breeder Seed Program and around 15-20 quintals Breeder seed is produced every year for downstream multiplication of foundation and certified seeds by the indenting agencies. During last 5 years (2021-22 to 2025-26), a total of 389.6 quintals of quality seed of Kalanamak paddy varieties has been produced and distributed to farmers.

The Government promotes export of Kalanamak rice and facilitating access to international markets through Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) linking regional Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) directly to international buyers, facilitating export shipments to markets like Singapore and Nepal. Branding of Kalanamak rice as "Buddha Rice" promotes its cultural legacy to target high-value markets in Buddhist nations such as Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, and Myanmar. Siddharthnagar and its surrounding Terai districts have been integrated into APEDA's Agri-Export Zone framework for specialty rice, facilitating priority financial assistance for export packaging, residue testing, and quarantine compliance.

This information was given by Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Bhagirath Choudhary in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

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RC/MS