Best Rice in Dhaka 2020

 Best Rice in Dhaka 2020

Miniket, a popular brand name of a kind of slender and glossy husked rice is available everywhere in Bangladesh. Miniket is the corrupt expression of the word minikit, a synthesised dialect from the words mini (small) and kit (a set of supplies for a specific purpose). The origin of the word is India, most probably West Bengal. It is really amazing that the word minikit and popular rice is a synonym to each other nowadays. It is a popular notion that the brand of rice Miniket comes from the milling of a rice variety cultivated in the same name. In fact, there was no registered variety nor a land race (Deshi jat) one is available in Bangladesh. Even in India, there is no variety available officially in the name of Minikit. However, I remember a line named as Minikit was included in one of my studies some one and a half decade ago collected from farmers’ field somewhere from southwestern part of the country. The variety could not compete with the other better varieties so automatically screened out from the BRRI regular working stocks. However, it may be available in our gene bank for future use. But in fact, Minikit could not be a name of a rice variety. It could be a breeding line or a pre-released variety that had been slipped away from the famous “Minikit” trial conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperative, Government of India. I am sure that the line was unique in te
rms of shape, size and taste, but the adaptation ability might not be up to the mark with respect to our condition.

Now let us see what minikit trial is. Prior to recommend a breeding line for cultivation as a variety, the lines have to encounter a series of tests, sequentially to grow up itself superior compare to those of its counterparts. The tests are as Screening test, Observation Yield Trial (OYT), Secondary Yield Trial (SYT), Preliminary Yield Trial (PYT), Regional Yield Trial (RYT), Advanced Line Adaptive Research Trial (ALART), and Proposed Variety Trial (PVT).

The variety selection method is more or less the same both in India and Bangladesh. However, there might have some differences in the case of India as the country is quite diverse with respect to land and climate. The steps are:

a.      Preliminary Variety Trial (PYT).

b.     State Variety Trial (SVT)

c.     CVT (Combined Variety Trial)

d.     Adaptive and Pre-Released Variety trial

e.     Minikit Trail (demonstration)

I am concerned about the Minikit and minikit trial. So I am not discussing the others for the convenience of my write up. The Minikit trial is conducted in farmers’ field, primarily to get their response what we used to do in the case of ALART, or PVT. The minikit trial was first initiated most probably in West Bengal, India almost half a century ago prior to takeover by the central government of India. This was a very effective method to justify a pre-released variety with respect to farmers’ choice. So the central Government of India came over to sponsor the programme in the name of Minikit in 1971-72. Accordingly, several thousand minikits (2 Kg of seed per kit) trials were conducted at the very start of the programme in the dry season all over India. It was just like a Christmas gift box having 2 kg of rice seed given to a farmer. In another trial, 53, 000 kits were supplied to 60 important rice growing districts in the Kharif 1972. In 1977-78, in West Bengal, the 16,815 similar trials were conducted.  In addition, the West Bengal government launched a Minikit programme to popularise the released varieties. In this programme, each farmer was awarded a modest amount of input cost (US $2), in addition to the 2 Kg of seed. Along with the increasing popularity of the trials, the number of demonstration was increased significantly in the subsequent years.

To increase the productivity of newly released varieties through extensive extension works, a scheme on Minikit not only for rice but for the other crops like wheat and coarse cereal was taken by the Indian Government in 1972. Realising the efficacy of the trials under the favourable environment, the central Indian Government initiated sponsoring the same programme in some problem oriented areas like low-lying area, deep water area, saline prone area, hilly area etc. in 1978. The improved varieties were given prior importance in this programme.

So Minikit is not a variety but a methodology to reach a farmers-friendly variety to the mass. So far I could know from certain sources (GoutamShil, from the department of Agriculture, WB, Government of India, and RatnaMajumder, BRRI now working at IRRI) that a variety Satabdi (IE4786), released in 2002 was called as Minikit. The farmers along the bordering districts of Bangladesh prefer to cultivate some of the Indian varieties like Ratna, Joya, Swarna, Bhojon. This Satabdi might have introduced in the western bordering districts of Bangladesh, illegally as the other varieties mentioned here. M. Hossain and his associates (2011), tried to study the fate of the land race and the HYVs in cultivation in 2005.

 

But there is no information about Satabdi in their work. But an Indian variety called Mota Minikit was mentioned in their report. The area coverage of Mota Minikit was 1.09 % (average figure of Boro, Aus and Aman season). In contrast, the coverage of BRRI dhan28 and BRRI dhan29 was 23.0 and 36% of the total Boro rice area, respectively. But in the Boro season, the coverage of Mota minikit was 6.96%, 9.41% and 27% at Khulna, Jessore and Jhenaidah, respectively. As Aus the variety was cultivated only in Jhenaidah district and the coverage was 2.39%. This study was done in 2005. The variety might have drifted in the Bangladesh but could not sustain anymore. Mota minikit is not slender, so it is Mota (swollen) and bold in shape in size.  But we are getting long, slender and white rice in the name of Miniket in Bangladesh throughout the year. It means that Miniket available in the market is an over-polished rice made from any kinds of coarse varieties during milling. There might have some exceptions also. Some Miniket brands are available as Super Miniket or Miniket no. 1 or something like that in the market. Some millers claim that those Minikets are produced from a slender variety called Zira cultivated in North Bengal. But still, the question remains how much Zira variety is grown to whole year supply.  

The polished rice is exclusively inferior to the unpolished one in terms of nutrition.  They do not have the brown coat. So the polished rice is low in fibre, oil, Vitamins B, thiamin anti-oxidant etc. After polishing about 80% Vitamin B1, 67% of B3 and 90% of B6 is lost. Unpolished or brown rice contains selenium good for the thyroid problem. They have 50 % more magnesium.  

Let me say something about the consumers’ preference. Once the Bengali clan was satisfied with the coarse rice and coarse cloth that means their want was at the minimum level. Now with the satisfaction of their real appetite, they are now suffering from the mental appetite. Or it is better to say that their mental demand has been increased. That is why most of the consumers prefer to take shiny, white and tasty rice. That is not bad provided the natural product is available. For this, they could try for naturally grown slender, shiny and white rice, but not the artificial one. That is also available but in the limited scale.

The total rice production of the country most dependent on the mega varieties like BRRI dhan28, BRRI dhan29 and BR11. A certain percentage like 6-8% is coming from hybrid rice varieties. These rice varieties are not fine or so called premium type. In fact, all these coarse rice have to undergo over polishing to change their shape and size. The coarse rice is polished to slender and tasty rice. When the coarse rice is polished to a slim looking one, it is supposed to lose the majority of the essential elements mentioned above and fibre essential for the human nutrition and development. Thus a coarse hybrid may be changed to relatively slender to be sold as BRRI dhan28 or BRRI dhan29. And real BRRI dhan28 and BRRI dhan29 is changed to attractive branded Minikit rice. The millers do not have to encounter any loss. The byproduct rice powder what they are getting after polishing is used as animal feed. So they are gaining in two ways, first by value addition through polishing and by selling the rice powder. On the other hand, the consumers’ are getting losers in two ways, one by economically, because they have to pay more for a kg of rice and the second is nutritional. Gradually the consumers become prone to habitual diseases like type two diabetes as the polished rice has more Glycemic Index value.

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 I do not blame the millers. I have an intimate talk with some of the leading millers of the country. They are quite conscious of the present situation.

 

They have to rely on their business. The business is targeted to satisfy their consumers. If the consumers do not prefer the glossy and over polished rice, the millers will proceed that way. So it depends on the consumer’s preference what kind of rice they prefer. However, there are a consumers association talks for quality rice and food. But it appears to me that nobody bothers. In fact, they should have intimate talks with millers and the business elites of the country. Vis-a-vis there should have a law, that no brand name should be used for rice or the other agricultural commodities. Rice must be sold in its variety name. BRRI dhan28 or BRRI dhan50 must be sold in their original name. This law should be applicable for pulse, oils, vegetables and fruits also. Then the consumer will get the right products according to their options. To build a healthy nation, we have to assure the quality and nutritious food. Everybody knows that in black and white but nobody follows. That is the shocking truth for a nation like us.

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