Rice is one of the most consumed grains on the planet. So on our table, all kinds of rice dishes appear all year round. However, few people think about where and how our favorite cereals are produced. But this directly affects the quality. We decided to learn all the most important and interesting things about rice production together with the National trademark.
Roots going back to ancient times
Man learned to cultivate rice about seven thousand years ago. The right to be called the birthplace of rice is disputed between India and China. However, it is unlikely to establish the truth. One thing is for sure: the first rice fields appeared in Asia. Over the centuries, local farmers have adapted to grow rice even on mountain plateaus and tiny patches of land.
Today, rice is produced all over the world. And although modern technologies have stepped far forward, only three methods are used for its cultivation. Rice receipts remain the most popular. They are spacious plots of land, equipped with a powerful system for pumping and removing water. Thanks to this, the roots and part of the stem are immersed in water almost until the grains ripen. Being a moisture-loving crop, rice feels great in such conditions. Rice receipts are used to produce 90 % of the world’s rice, including in Russia.
The estuary method of rice cultivation is considered the most ancient. Its essence lies in the fact that the seeds are planted along the banks of large rivers filled with water. But this method is suitable for certain varieties of rice — with a branched root system and elongated stems. These varieties are mainly grown in Asian countries. Dry fields do not require flooding at all. Most often they can be found in regions with a warm, humid climate. Japan and China are famous for such fields, where nature itself has taken care of favorable conditions for rice.
Rice on Russian soil
The very first rice field in our country appeared during the reign of Ivan the Terrible. Then it was sown in the lower reaches of the Volga estuary method. But apparently, the trial experiment did not meet expectations. Under Peter I, the Saracen grain (the so-called rice of our ancestors) was again in Russia. This time it was decided to sow it in the Terek River delta. However, the harvest suffered the same fate. And only at the end of the XVIII century, the Kuban Cossacks were lucky enough to see generous rice shoots on their land. The swampy floodplains of the Kuban turned out to be the most favorable place for growing rice.
It was in the Kuban almost a century and a half later that the first rice check with an area of about 60 hectares was erected. The rice system, as such, was organized in the USSR by Khrushchev, in the 60s. By the 80s of the last century, the acreage had grown to an unthinkable 200 thousand hectares. Today, the Krasnodar Territory remains the leading rice-producing region in Russia. According to data for 2016, the volume of rice produced here for the first time exceeded the figure of 1 million tons, which became a kind of record. And, by the way, this represents 84 % of the country’s rice production.
The second place in rice cultivation is firmly held by the Rostov region. However, in terms of the volume of the crop, it is significantly inferior to the Kuban. For comparison, over the past year, about 65.7 thousand tons of rice were harvested here. The third line of the unofficial rating is occupied by Dagestan with 40.9 thousand tons of rice. And the Primorsky Territory and the Republic of Adygea complete the top five.
High-grade product
The largest rice producer in Russia is the agro-industrial holding AFG National. And there are a number of good reasons for this. About 20 % of its cultivated areas are sown annually with elite varieties of seeds, the rest falls on rice of the first reproduction. This allows you to achieve an optimal price – quality ratio. The substances used for fertilization have absolutely no negative impact on the environment or on the crop itself. Grain elevators and processing plants are located in the immediate vicinity of the crop fields.
Rice production at the AFG National enterprises is a high-tech process, debugged to the last detail. It uses the most modern equipment and advanced technologies that fully meet international standards. The raw material undergoes a deep multi-stage processing, which allows it to be cleaned from the smallest impurities. And thanks to the soft, effective grinding, the surface of the grains becomes perfectly smooth, which has a positive effect on the nutritional quality of rice. Packaging of the finished product is carried out in automatic mode, in which the influence of the human factor is completely excluded.
The National brand rice series in a classic polypropylene package of 900 g or 1500 g combines the most popular varieties of rice that satisfy the tastes of the broad masses of consumers: round-grain rice “Japanese”, long-grain steamed rice “Gold of Thailand”, elite long-grain rice “Jasmine”, medium-grain rice “Adriatic”, medium-grain rice “For pilaf”, white ground round-grain rice “Krasnodar”, long-grain unpolished rice “Health” and others.
Following the principle of “from the field to the counter”, the holding’s specialists constantly monitor the quality at every stage of production. Great attention is paid to the control of optimal conditions during the storage and transportation of rice. All this serves as a guarantee that a quality, proven product will appear on your table.
AFG National holding includes the following brands of cereals: “National”, “National Premium”, Prosto, “Russian Breakfast”, “Agroculture”, Cento Percento, Angstrom Horeca. In addition to cereals, AFG National produces potatoes of the following brands: “Natural selection”, “Vegetable League”.
A healthy family diet begins with choosing the right foods. AFG National Holding always makes sure that you find them unmistakably on the supermarket shelves. Take care of your family and you, please them with your favorite rice dishes of unsurpassed quality.