In meeting with parliamentary panel, rice millers flag hybrid paddy cultivation

Chandigarh: A delegation of Punjab Rice Industry Association on Thursday met the 21-member parliamentary standing committee on agriculture, animal husbandry and food processing led by former Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi.Association president Bharat Bhushan Binta and vice-president Ranjit Singh Jossan flagged the increasing cultivation of hybrid paddy in Punjab. Last year, Punjab govt attempted to impose restrictions on certain hybrid varieties, but the move was later stayed by the court, they said. Binta claimed that many hybrid varieties produced 40%-50% broken rice during milling. However, the Food Corporation of India permitted only 25% broken rice in the central pool. This contradiction is causing substantial financial losses to millers, he said. Jossan added Punjab Agricultural University and other research institutions primarily focused on yield, disease resistance and farmers' income while developing new varieties. However, the need of the hour is that every new variety should undergo commercial-scale milling before being recommended.