The cultivation of Basmati rice is also possible in hill areas.

Chamoli: The cultivation of basmati rice and export, what is the future of basmati crop in earning and exportation in India, discussed in a workshop, organized at P.G. College Gopeshwar.

Government’s efforts in exports of basmati rice, is one of the most exported agricultural product from India is rice and in this also the maximum foreign exchange has earned from Basmati rice, said keynote speaker
Dr. Ritesh Sharma, Senior Scientist, APFEDA. If proper efforts are made to produce, Basmati can also be grown in hilly areas as Kangra district of Himachal is a good example of this.  He told further in detail about the purification of seeds and the method of selection of good seeds.

A successfully cultivating Basmati in Meerut, a progressive farmer Vinod Saini, told about the Basmati production being produced by him.  He said that initially the sugarcane farmers did not take interest in its cultivation, but the farmers got excited due to the good crop and profit of basmati and gradually others also did.
He showed more intereste towards basmati cultivation, and has used organic fertilizers like Jeevamrit and Beejamrit for growing organically.

Chief Development Officer Chamoli Dr. Lalit Narayan Mishra, the chief guest of the workshop has told that farmers can be benefited by processing rice like Malta and Burans in Chamoli district.  He said that red rice is an example of this and therefore it is necessary to consider the possibilities of basmati rice.

Assistant Agriculture Officer Dr. Jitendra Bhaskar said that soil testing is very important in the production of paddy crops.  A small quiz competition was also organized for the farmers in the programme, and 10 farmers were given prizes for giving correct answers.  Music and dance performances were also presented by the students of the music department on this occasion.  Program has Chaired by Principal Prof. Swati Negi