Fact Sheet: GI Protected Rice Varieties of India

September 11, 2015 November 9, 2023

The major GI Protected varieties of India are as follows:

This rice variety is grown in Kerala and its cultivation. Palakkad in Kerala is the main land of Navara rice. This rice variety has not only nutritional and religious but also medicinal value. It received GI protection in 2007. This rice is used in Navarakizhi, a specialty traditional Kerala treatment of neuromuscular disorders.

Matta Rice or Rosematta rice or Palakkadan Matta rice is cultivated in Palakkad region of Kerala and is a GI protected variety. It has its own flavor and taste when cooked.

Pokkali rice is organically grown in the waterlogged coastal regions of Alappuzha, Thrissur and Ernakulam districts of Kerala. This rice variety has a unique tolerance to salinity and it is grown under a unique cropping pattern of Rice-Prawn rotational system. Rice is cultivated from June to November while Prawns are fetched in winter.

This is a popular traditional aromatic rice variety grown in Wayanad District of Kerala. It is non-basmati rice yet has a unique taste and aroma.

This is yet another GI protected rice variety of Kerala grown in Wayanad region.

Kalanamak Rice is named so because it has black husk and has some salty taste. It is cultivated in the Terai region of Eastern Uttar Pradesh in Siddharthnagar, Sant Kabirnagar, Mau and Azamgarh districts. This rice has its own historical importance and is linked to the life of Gautam Buddha; who as legeds say, visited Kapilvastu after attaining wisdom and when the villagers asked Prasada, he gave them seeds of this rice.

Kaipad Rice is organically cultivated in the brackish water tracts of the three districts of northern Kerala viz. Kannur, Kasaragod, and Kozhikode. Like Pokkali Rice, cultivation of Kaipad rice is also done organically under salinity prone waterlogged fields. Due a unique cropping pattern or system called ‘kaipad’ system of rice cultivation has developed in Kerala. This is an integrated organic farming system in which rice cultivation and aquaculture go hand in hand. ‘Orkayma’ and ‘Kuthiri’ are two popular Kaipad varieties.