Siddharthnagar district was created on December 29, 1988. The district was named after Sidhhartha (Gautam Buddha), who spent his early years in the kingdom of Kapilavastu which is now part of the district. The district is one of the 75 districts of UP and belongs to the Basti division in the Purvanchal region of the state... Naugarh town is the district headquarters. . The district is known for the ruins of the Shakya Janapada, at Piprahwa which is 22 km away from the district headquarters, Naugarh. Siddharthnagar district comprises 5 tehsils Naugarh (Sadar Tehsil), Shohratgarh, Bansi, Itwa and Domariyaganj . There are five Vidhan Sabha constituencies in the district. These are Shohratgarh, Kapilvastu, Bansi, Itwa and Domariyaganj. The only Lok Sabha constituency in this district is Domariyaganj.

According to the 2011 census, Siddharthnagar district has a population of 25,59,297. The district has a population density of 884 inhabitants per square kilometre. Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 25.4%. Siddharth Nagar has a sex ratio of 976 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 59.2. Siddharthnagar is predominantly an agrarian region with 79% of the district’s population engaged in agriculture and related activities. Siddharthnagar is known for production of Kalanamak Rice which also called as ‘Buddha’s Gift’.

Siddharth Nagar covers a total area of 2,752 sq km that is 1063 sq mi. It is elevated at a height of 99 meters above sea level and it got its coordinates at 27.30° North latitude and 83.09° East longitude. Siddharth Nagar is bounded by Balarampur District in the west, Basti District in the South and Maharajganj District in the East. Siddharth Nagar homes numerous ponds or Talabs in its grounds like Siria Naukhan, Baidaula Naukhan, Naukhan pond and numerous river flows through various parts of the city.

The district located adjacent to Nepal & down of Himalaya, known as Tarai area. Most of land is fertile and Agriculture is the primary occupation of the people. The main crops grown in the district are rice, wheat, Mustard potato etc, Siddharth Nagar has many prominent rivers flowing through its grounds like River West Rapti, River Dano, Pre Hallaur-River, Banganga River, Naugarh Pahadi River, Nara Nallah River and many more enriching the grounds of Siddharth Nagar and forming a huge source of water resource to the district making its soil fertile and suitable for cultivation.
Siddharth Nagar experiences a hot and long summers and cool and short winters. Monsoon in Siddharth Nagar is pleasant. The summer daytime temperature in Siddharth Nagar ranges in between 26° C to 46° C. Summer in Siddharth Nagar prevails in the months of March, April, and May with an average day time temperature of 26° C, 32° C and 37° C respectively. The months of January and February are quite pleasant in the district with temperature ranging in between 16° C to 18° C.

As mentioned above sections and seen in Table 1, Argo-based industries with 3,698 units are the most prominent sector. It also makes a significantly large contribution to the district’s economy.. It is followed by sectors such as “Repair and installation of machinery and Equipment” with 1395 and 1511 units respectively.

Out of total population of 2,559,297 79% are cultivators and agricultural labourers. This again proves that agriculture is the main source of income in the district. The following data below shows occupational distribution of Siddharthnagar.

The total export from Siddharthnagar is approximately INR 45.49 Crore for the period September 2020 to March 2021.

Siddharthnagar district is one of the key rice producing pockets of Uttar Pradesh and is categorized as a medium low productivity group 1,500-2,000 Kg/Ha5.

Siddharthnagar district is one of the key rice producing pockets of Uttar Pradesh and is categorized as a medium low productivity group 1,500-2,000 Kg/Ha5. The district is in the Himalayan Tarai belt of eastern Uttar Pradesh bordering Nepal. Siddharthnagar, received Geographical Indication tag in 2013 for its one of the varieties of rice ‘Kalanamak’ grown in the region. Since then, the district is recognised as the as the “Scented Black Pearl of Uttar Pradesh”. Agriculture is the main occupation of the residents of this district Siddharthnagar. Around 71% of workers are engaged in agriculture as cultivators and agricultural labourers. Around 79% of reporting area comes under the plough. The district of Siddharthnagar has approximately 1,78,878 ha net irrigated area and 7 rice mills for paddy in the cluster engaging around 298,360 who are involved in cultivation and 395,993 agriculture labour are in field preparation, sowing of the seeds, harvesting, loading and unloading for transportation etc. The cluster is male dominant with ~70% of its farmer being men. Only 30% women are involved in the rice cultivation activity and most of them belong from the rural areas of the district specifically Jogia and Barhni.The district has 7 key pockets that focusses on rice processing, namely, Methwal, Naugarh, Itwa, Domariyaganj , Lotan, Khesraha, Bhanwapur. However, paddy farming is being practised in all 14 blocks of the Siddharthnagar which are Naugarh, Barhni, Shohartgarh, Birdpur, Jogia, Uska Bazar, Bansi, Methwal, Khesraha, Bhanwapur, Itwa, Khuniyaon, Dumariyaganj and Lotan
The farmers of the district specialise in paddy cultivation which includes preparation of field, sowing of seeds, harvesting and storing etc. The rice grown in Siddharthnagar has approximately 72% efficacy rate from paddy to milling. It was learnt from stakeholder discussions held that a large percentage of rice produced in the cluster is sold to the traders / millers in domestic market and only Kalanamak rice is exported since 2020 (approximately 20MT was exported in 2020 to Singapore). The other two varieties, Sambha Masuri and Matta Rice are sold in Haryana and Punjab as well as in the local mandis.

Rice is the staple food for the inhabitants of Uttar Pradesh and its adjoining states like Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and North-eastern states. The cluster produces paddy for domestic market typically catering to the market within the cluster. The total area under paddy cultivation is 1,78,878 ha of net irrigated area. The primary products of the cluster are rice which include three varieties Sambha Masuri, Matta and Kalanamak. Apart from these other value-added products are also available i.e. Chiwda, Rice Flour, brown rice however it is limited to domestic use only.

By Products: After processing the rice in mills, the leftovers are used to produce following:
► Rice bran: It is the principal by-product of the mills in the cluster. Due to its valuable vegetable oil content, it is utilized as feedstock for the solvent oil extraction units located in the neighbouring district, Behraich and in other parts of the state. In Siddharthnagar, there is no facility available for processing rice bran into oil.
► Husk: It is mainly utilized as a fuel although, it has potential for utilization in the production of rice husk boards.
► Broken Rice: It is a by-product of milling and is widely consumed by economically disadvantaged sections of society. It is also used to some extent, to produce rice powder which is consumed in the households for preparation of homemade cakes (commonly called ‘peetha’) and ‘Dhosa’ and ‘idly’ (the popular South Indian foods).
► Rice Flour: It is a form of flour made from finely milled rice. It is distinct from rice starch, which is usually produced by steeping rice in lye. Rice flour is a common substitute for wheat flour. It is also used as a thickening agent in recipes that are refrigerated or frozen since it inhibits liquid separation.
► Chiwda (Rice Flakes): It is the rice that has been parboiled and then rolled, flattened, and dried to produce flakes. The flakes come in different thicknesses depending on the pressure used in the flattening process. The flakes can absorb a large volume of liquid when used in various dishes, so they absorb flavours well. They are popular in Asian cooking, and in western countries are more often used commercially in the production of cereals and rice snacks. ;

Kalanamak Rice has been granted the Geographical Indication (GI) Tag in 2012 by the Government of India and a geographical area has been defined where the Kalanamak rice can be produced. Kalanamak rice grown in this defined area can only be labelled as Kalanamak rice. Geographical area for Kalanamak rice lies between 26° 42′ North to 27° 75′ North Latitude and 81° 42′ to 83° 88′ East Longitude in the State of Uttar Pradesh. Geographical Area of production of Kalanamak Rice is approved for 11 districts of Zone 7 of U. P. These 11 districts are located in the divisions of Gorakhpur (Deoria, Gorakhpur, Mahrajganj, Siddharth Nagar districts), Basti (Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Siddharth Nagar districts), and Devipatan (Bahraich, Balrampur, Gonda, Shravasti districts). ;
Kalanamak rice has been granted the Geographical Indication (GI) Tag which was applied to the Government of India by Kalanamak Scented Paddy Production & Conservation Society. The GI tag is an indication which is definite to a geographical territory. It is used for agricultural, natural and manufactured goods. The initial GI Tag expired in 2020 but was renewed until 2030 now.

There are number of stakeholders that provide support and enable growth of the cluster. Key stakeholders rice milling units, farmers, transporters, packaging providers and raw material suppliers which have been playing a crucial role in the cluster with respect to day-to-day business operations. Also, other support institutions/BDS providers such as DIEPC, KVIC, KVK, Department of Agriculture, UPSIDC etc are important stakeholders interacted with supporting the cluster across functions such as infrastructure, manpower etc. The figure below mentions the key cluster stakeholders.

Following are principal Industry Associations/SPVs that are working for the development of Rice farming and processing in Siddharthnagar:
► Participatory Rural Development Foundation (PRDF)
► International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)
► Indian Institute of Rice Research, Hyderabad
► National Rice Research Institute, Cuttack (NRRI)
► Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture & Technology (GBPUAT), Pantnagar
► U.P. Council of Agricultural Research (UPCAR)
► Agriculture Department
► Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) ;

The export scenario of the World and India have been analysed basis the export statistics of HS code 100630 under which non-Basmati rice is exported from Siddharthnagar district.

Current Scenario The export scenario of the World and India have been analysed basis the export statistics of HS code 100630 under which non-Basmati rice is exported from Siddharthnagar district. Alongside are the key facts pertaining to the analysed product code. ;

1. Rice: HS Code 100630 (Semi-milled or wholly milled rice, whether or not polished or glazed)
► The total exports of product from Siddharthnagar district as per HS code 100630 is around INR 43.71 crores between September 20 to November 2021.
► India's exports represent 36.28% of world exports for this product, its ranking in world exports is number one
► Key importers of the product from India include Iran, Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Yemen, China, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, USA, Nepal etc. Below figure shows the top importers for this product (100630) in the world: