Indigenous Crop GI Tag: Arunachal Seeks Support from Assam Agricultural University

Arunachal Pradesh deputy chief minister Chowna Mein has requested assistance on Thursday from Assam Agricultural University to receive GI registration of indigenous crops from the state.

Mein, who visited Assam Agricultural University in Jorhat along with a team of agricultural department officers, conducted discussions with the vice-chancellor, scientists and faculty members of the university in an attempt to encourage exports.

He said that in order to follow the International Norms and Protocol, GI tag and networking for quality assurance, packaging, branding needs to be encouraged for exportable goods.

'Many high-demand indigenous crop species, especially in the overseas market, need to be GI-registered for patenting in order to ensure security of intellectual property rights to receive a premium price on foreign markets,' he said.

Mein claimed that not only will the GI Registration be limited to Khamti Lahi Rice, Monpa Maize and Adi Kekir, but it will also be applied to other indigenous state crops.

The Department of Agriculture of Arunachal Pradesh and the Assam Agricultural University decided to continue the proposal with the signing of the MoU. In developing a package of practices for different indigenous crops grown in Arunachal Pradesh, Mein sought scientific intervention, assistance, aid and guidance from the Institute.

The State has announced that it has approximately 25 lakh hectares of agricultural land, of which 7 lakh hectares are suitable for food and commercial crops through traditional irrigation and 18 lakh hectares are suitable for horticultural crops.

'With about 80 per cent of traditional agricultural practices producing organic products, Arunachal Pradesh has a unique biodiversity,' Mein said.

AAU Vice-Chancellor Bidyut Chandan Deka said that the University had grown crop varieties and developed an organic package of crop practices in Assam, in addition to GI registrations.

He assured the university of all possible help and assistance and worked in cooperation with the Arunachal Pradesh government.

In Arunachal Pradesh, AAU and KVK Namsai cultivated 10 Khamti Lahi varieties as an observation trial for seed production and purification during 2020.

Monpa Maize and Adi Kekir observation and cultivation will be undertaken from this year onwards.