India, Feb. 2 -- The Chilika red rice grows in the wetlands around the Chilika Lake in Odisha. Locally known as bankia or bankei, the rice is flood-tolerant and helps marginalised local farmers eke a living in all kinds of weather conditions.

Among the farmers are Haramohan Samantari and Bheema Swain of Mangalajodi village, who grow the rice on 2 acres and 3 acres of land they own respectively.

They grow the rice organically and use traditional methods to harvest and the yield depends on the weather conditions. The yield on 2 acres is around 13 quintals and Samantari earns around Rs 8,000-Rs 10,000 from selling around 2-3 quintals. The rest of the harvest is used at home. Swain harvests around 24 quintals and earns Rs 20,000 from the 8-...