Katarni Aromatic Scented Rice Rohtas Bhojpur Bihar

Katarni is a traditional aromatic short-grain rice variety cultivated in Rohtas, Bhojpur, and Buxar districts of Bihar along the Kaimur plateau and Ganga plain margins. The grain emits a distinctive sweet fragrance during cooking linked to high 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline content, similar to Basmati but with shorter cooking time and firmer texture. Katarni seeds are maintained by seed-keeper families across plateau villages using traditional selection from the previous harvest panicle. The variety was saved from near-extinction in the 1990s through cooperative seed bank programs and was awarded a Geographical Indication tag protecting its Rohtas-Bhojpur origin. Cooperative networks founded by PRADAN and Bihar state agri-department store breeder seed across fifteen accredited villages. Katarni commands a price premium of two to three times above common paddy varieties at Patna and Bihar Sharif mandi.