Impact of Kalanamak rice research: accelerating adoption, stabilizing productivity and enhancing farm income of rice farmers in eastern Uttar Pradesh

Kalanamak rice is an old local land race and it was widely domesticated in the Himalyan tarai bordering districts of Nepal in the north eastern plain zone of eastern Uttar Pradesh before invention and diffusions of HYV's. It has exceeding quality of taste, aroma and softness than any other rice variety. These characters ultimately lead to consumer demand and better market price. In the past, it played a crucial role in the economy of rice farmers and was treated as cash crops. However, the Kalanamak area has rapidly declined over the past three decades due to poor yield. The poor yield mainly because of panicle blast, lodging, long maturing, deteriorations in grain quality particularly loss of aroma and taste, non-availability of quality seeds and crop improvement program. The yield reductions also persist due to admixture of seed which were using Kalanamak growers in the region since ages. This study explores the importance of research on kalanamak rice in terms of increase and stabilizes yield, improve quality and net return, increased opportunities for producers, traders, consumers and laborers for employment and saving environment from degradation.