Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has signed a seventy-year lease agreement with Uttar Pradesh’s Agriculture Department for establishing a Basmati and Organic Training Centre in Pilibhit. The move is aimed at strengthening the Basmati rice ecosystem in India.

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry said that the facility is also aimed at supporting training and capacity building for Basmati and organic farmers, and also serves as a resource centre for agricultural experts and students. It added that the centre will be equipped with facilities including an auditorium, museum and gallery on Basmati and organic farming, conference room, laboratory and storage space for organic farming inputs. Developed over an area of approximately seven acres, the facility will be the country’s first Basmati organic training and demonstration farm covering both conventional and organic Basmati cultivation.