BHUBANESWAR: Even as Rasagola hogs the limelight over geographical indication (GI) tag, the organic Kandhamal turmeric has already quietly got down to the job.The Intellectual Property Facilitation Centre (IPFC) for MSMEs at the Central Tool Room and Training Centre (CTTC) here has already started preliminary research and field work necessary for submitting the application with the GI Registry at Chennai.
The Kandhamal Apex Spices Association for Marketing (KASAM) had approached IPFC in this regard about three months back. After a proposal was submitted, it was officially assigned the job given its expertise in design, patent, trademarks and GI.According to the head of IPFC Dr SK Kar, the preliminary stage work for geographic location has started because a major pre-requisite of the GI application is to establish a product’s historical origin. “We are hopeful of completing the entire exercise in December so that the application can be filed by second week of January,” he said.
The GI tag process will also require details of methods of production, identification of industrial users and other applications. Its microscopic and organoleptic characters have to be assessed too.Similarly, the medicinal properties of the turmeric has to be assessed which would be eventually reviewed by an assessment committee comprising experts.Kar said, the uniqueness of turmeric would be analysed through a scientific process. “All these would go into the registration process to make the application viable so that when the GI examiner makes field visit, all the boxes are ticked,” he added.
After the GI examiner is satisfied, GI would be published in a journal and objections would be sought after which the tag is granted. The entire process could take more than a year.
Kandhamal turmeric has been famous for being organically cultivated without use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides which is why it has a demand in foreign countries. To export organic species from the district, KASAM entered an agreement with Control Union Certification of Holland, an organic certifying agency. It has been obtaining organic certificate since 2000.
KASAM, a company formed under Society’s Registration Act, markets the organic spices through a marketing network. It has close to 12,000 farmers as its members. The District Collector is its president while the governing body looks after the management and business.