Most of the Farmers in India are struggling and fighting with weather woes and poor yields. But a farmer in Manipur has been succeeding in adopting smart and eco-friendly methods of farming. He is Devakanta. Like many other farmers in India, Devakanta also works in the paddy fields in Imphal for many hours. The only difference of other farmers and himself is that he has a passion for conserving a wide variety of rice in his organic farm.

The main specialty in this farm is that Devakanta conserves even cancer curing black rice which is called ‘Chakhao poireiton’. So far, Devakanta has succeeded in persevering around 100 traditional varieties of paddy and he is cultivating 25 varieties of rice in his green farm. Despite India being one of the world’s biggest producers of rice, a bit is known about the rich variety of rice grown across the country.

Manipur is known as a treasure trove of rice varieties that face different kinds of temperatures in other states. Devakanta had won the PPVFRA conservation award (Protection of Plant Varieties And Farmers Rights Act) in 2012. He has travelled all over Manipur, collecting different types of rice from drought-resistant white rice, brown rice and black rice. Manipur is also famous for black rice which has a lot of medical properties even.

“In Manipur, farmers grow about 20 varieties of black rice and chakhao poireiton is the best variety. It has a relatively high mineral content, including iron and amino acids. There are several cases where even cancer patients got cured by having this black rice,” says Devakanta. He is right now working with 200 farmers to increase the cultivation of ‘chakhao poireiton’ even in their farms.

“I am recommending chakhao poireiton to cancer patients who seek my advice. Considering the high prices of allopathic drugs which also have terrible side effects, it is advisable to have black rice. Black rice, ayurvedic medicines and organic food can lead to a complete cancer cure,” explains Dr Anjali Pathak, naturopath and organic consultant. This variety of rice is useful for diseases like dengue, viral fever, chikungunya or influenza.

Some e-commerce sites sell black rice for Rs 300-350 a kg, but Devakanta sells organically grown black rice from his farm for just Rs 150. “I have adopted organic methods of farming. I have also succeeded in convincing many farmers to switch to organic farming. It’s high time we stopped using harmful insecticides and fertilisers. The soil here is very fertile and it is our duty to maintain by using only natural manures and bio-agents to protect the crop,” explains Devakanta.

“We have several high medicinal value plants, some of which are good to cure cancer. Several aromatic plants can be used as insect repellents also. It is difficult to grow and maintain medicinal plants. Our nature is blessed with plants that can save us from several ailments. It is important to protect our naturally available medicinal plants before many varieties get extinct,” says Devakanta.