Added Shiv Singh, a farmer from Chirgaon in Shimla district: 'We have been planting the red rice for decades. Now, its cultivation has declined in the region due to availability of lucrative cash crops. But we are still cultivating it because of its religious and cultural relevance.'

According to Singh, red rice now sells for Rs.50-70 a kilogram in the market.

Kaushik attributed the decline in red rice production to the Green Revolution.

'During the Green Revolution, most of the traditional varieties of the crops were wiped out. Some of the farmers in remote areas are still growing traditional crops because of their medicinal and religious importance and red rice is one of them,' he said.

The variety is also grown in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. But in the hills, it is grown in a totally organic manner.

The university is also trying to get the red rice registered under the Geographical Indications (GI) of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act , 1999.

'The registration of the red rice under the GI Act would enable the farmers and others in marketing their product around the world,' Kaushik said.

'The certification of the product by a department of the central government will stamp the genuineness and origin of the product. This will, of course, help boost its exports too. The ultimate gainer will be the growers.'

The GI registration is a community patent in which instead of an individual, the entire community of producers and other stakeholders of a particular area are benefited.

(Vishal Gulati can be contacted at vishal.g@ians.in)