Farmers in Assam, India, plant seedlings in the rice fields. A new study says heirloom rice in India is cheaper and more nutritious compared to high-yielding varieties. Photo credit: Diganta Talukdar (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Paddy_cultivation_in_Nagaon.jpg), CC BY-SA 4.0
India’s native rice varieties are a rich source of fatty acids, which are important for malnourished infants, new research shows.
Rice, the most important grain in the world after corn, is a staple food in the Asia-Pacific region. Around 500 million tons of rice are produced annually, with China being the leading producer, followed by India and Indonesia.
Traditional rice varieties are cheaper and more nutritious than industrially fortified, high-yielding varieties, according to a study published in Current Science. However, most of them are critically endangered as farmers are increasingly replacing them with high-yielding varieties.
Debal Deb, lead study author and researcher at the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies in Kolkata, says traditional rice or landrace varieties contain essential fatty acids that promote normal brain development in infants.
“Vanishing rice varieties contain important long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids that are found in breast milk and are essential for the cognitive development of babies. They’re not included in baby food. Mother is missing or not producing enough milk for the baby, “Deb told SciDev.Net.
Of the 94 folk rice varieties examined, 12 were able to meet the nutritional requirements of important fatty acids, such as arachidonic acid and docosahexaenoic acid, in malnourished mothers naturally more cheaply and reliably than formulas on the market.
HS Jat, senior scientist at the Central Soil Salinity Research Institute in Karnal, says there is a need to work on food security by adding traditional rice varieties to the plant breeding program or enriching widespread high-yielding rice varieties to reduce child malnutrition.
The World Hunger Index, which takes into account stunting, wasting and infant mortality among children, ranked India 94th out of 107 countries in 2020.
“Preserving these neglected and disappearing land races can help address the problem of infant malnutrition. It is imperative to develop a constructive roadmap for regional food security through growing the nutrient-rich folk rice land races,” Jat told SciDev.Net .
According to Deb, the late pioneer of Indian rice research, HR Richharia estimated that there were around 150,000 native rice varieties in India by 1970. Deb estimates that number is now down to about 110,000, despite only about 6,000 folk rice varieties on rice fields.
According to KT Chandra Mohan, professor and head of botany at Brennen College in Thalassery, Kerala, awareness of the nutritional value of folk rice is growing. “When the monoculture of rice took root, hundreds of folk varieties disappeared, along with the traditional knowledge associated with them,” Mohan told SciDev.Net.
Praseed Kumar Thayyil, a farmer, blames the loss of heirloom varieties of the 1960s “green revolution” which depended on hybrids and agrochemicals. “For decades this has led to the accumulation of toxic pollutants in the rice fields, the gradual decimation of agrobiodiversity, the loss of food diversity and the malnutrition of micronutrients.”
“Consumer awareness can increase the demand for folk varieties and encourage farmers to produce traditional varieties and halt the landrace extinction trend,” Thayyil told SciDev.Net.
Reis has many fathers, but only two mothers
More information:
Sandipan Ray et al., Rare and Neglected Rice Land Races as a Source of Fatty Acids for Malnourished Infants, Current Science (2021). www.currentscience.ac.in/Volumes/121/05/0660.pdf
Provided by SciDev.Net
Quote: India’s Heirloom Rice May Complement Infant Formula (2021, September 28), accessed September 28, 2021 from https://phys.org/news/2021-09-india-heirloom-rice-supplement-infant.html
This document is subject to copyright. Except for fair trade for private study or research purposes, no part may be reproduced without written permission. The content is provided for informational purposes only.
