The Indian School of Business (ISB) has found that there is very little awareness about Telangana Sona variety of rice among consumers and suggested implementation of an awareness building strategy for image building involving digital, television and retail outlets.
Working in association with the Agriculture Department and Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University (PJTSAU) for the last six months, the premier business school has come out with a report on ‘brand-building and marketing strategy for Telangana Sona rice’. The report was released here on Tuesday by Minister for Agriculture S. Niranjan Reddy.
Along with the Minister, Secretary (Agriculture) B. Janardhan Reddy, Vice-Chancellor of PJTSAU V. Praveen Rao, Prof. Madhu Viswanathan, Prof. D.V.R. Seshadri, Sundeep Jammalamadaka and Sridhar Bhagavatula of ISB were present on the occasion. The report prepared by the ISB is of the view that the awareness about Telangana Sona variety rice among consumers within Telangana was only 50% and it is even lesser outside the State. The report recommended implementation of an awareness strategy by involving digital, television and retail (kirana stores) platforms along with branding it as as a “healthy as well as tasty alternative” to daily consumption of rice.
Speaking at the event, Mr. Niranjan Reddy said the objective of the effort being made was to take the farm produce of Telangana to national and international level and help the farming community realise maximum returns to their hard work. He stated that the idea of branding Telangana farm produce was being made for the first time by the government. He pointed out the success story of Basmati variety rice stating that it was the Punjab government that had taken the variety to international level by branding it about 25 years ago. He wished that Telangana Sona variety too should be taken to similar level as it had low glycemic index (51.5%), high protein (8%) and high fibre (3%).
Further, he stated that it would require lesser water for cultivation compared to several other traditional and popular varieties and would reach harvesting stage 30 days earlier compared to them. Besides, it was suitable both for Vanakalam (Kharif) and Yasangi (Rabi) seasons. Earlier, it was cultivated only in 4 lakh acres, but this Vanakalam season it was raised in 10 lakh acres in Telangana and another 5 lakh acres in seven other States.
The Minister also proposed to take up similar branding for cotton, red-gram and groundnut varieties cultivated in Telangana. He explained that redgram cultivated in Narayanpet, Tandur, Makthal, western parts of Mahabubnagar and Rangareddy district would have good taste due to the soil quality there. Similarly, aflatoxin-free groundnut raised in Wanaparthy, Nagarkurnool and Jogulamba-Gadwal districts has also good demand.
On the quality of cotton, the Minister said Chairman and Managing Director of Cotton Corporation of India Pradeep Kumar Agarwal had himself showered praises on it. A meeting was also conducted on the occasion on taking the farm produce of Telangana to international level by involving NRIs and creating awareness among them on the produce.
