• IRRI to provide technical support to Odisha in value addition of Kalajeera rice.

• Koraput Kalajeera Rice: Known locally as the “Prince of Rice,” it received a Geographical Indication (GI) tag. Cultivated primarily by tribal communities in the Koraput plateau (a globally recognised center of genetic diversity for Oryza sativa), its preservation aligns with in-situ agrobiodiversity conservation.
• Nutritional Advantage: Low-Glycemic Index (Low-GI) profile makes it a high-value functional food, directly supporting dietary diversification and addressing lifestyle diseases like diabetes.

Value Addition & Food Processing

• Shifting from selling raw paddy to processed commodities directly reduces post-harvest loss and prevents distressed sales.
• Utilising broken rice for value-added products and establishing modern parboiled milling units ensures maximum economic recovery per quintal harvested.

Institutions & Tech Transfer

• IRRI Collaboration: Demonstrates how global agricultural research institutions (CGIAR network) support sub-national governments through agronomic science, quality standardization, and post-harvest technology transfer.
• Market Linkages: Initiatives like the ‘Beyond the Bowl’ buyer-seller meet address the traditional bottleneck in Indian agriculture: weak farm-to-market commercial bridges for non-mass-commodity crops.

Gender & Micro-Entrepreneurship

• The initiative ‘Women entrepreneurship development through rice value addition’ (facilitating bilateral knowledge exchange with the Philippines) integrates gender mainstreaming into rural agri-business, aligning with Self-Help Group (SHG) aggregation models.