Chak-hao GI status for state, profit for UP farmers
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: June 24, 2021 -

WARNING by All Club Organisation, Association & Meira Paibi Lup (ACOAM Lup) to impose ban on sale of Chak-hao and other value-added products of Manipur to save uniqueness of the black rice variety is unlikely to either have any serious impact on the Uttar Pradesh government or deter farmers of the north Indian state from planting the tasty and nutritious food grain.

Other than preventing export of the Manipur-origin rice grain, it would be impossible for the Lup to stop cultivation of Chak-hao for farmers in UP's Chandauli district, where plantation of the much sought-after rice variety is learnt to have been taken up on a large scale, have already been reaping fruit of their toil in the fields through import of the same.

As the Geographical Indication (GI) tag is merely a symbolic protection of indigenous products and produces, but allows continuation ofthe same artisanal heritage with due permission or consent of the first party, it is obvious that the UP farmers would machinate to sustain the black rice farming and selling of the produce, even if the sales are confined to the domestic markets.

As per the official record, application for Chak-hao seeking GI tag was filed by the Consortium of Producers of Chak-hao with the Department ofAgriculture and the North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation Limited as the facilitators of the formal procedures.

After over more than a year of the registration process including documentation by the state's agriculture department, Chak-hao received the GI tag in 2020, which is an indication that identifies goods as produced from a particular area which has special quality attributable to its geographical origin.

Subsequently, the Geographical Indications Registry website confirmed the report of registering Chak-hao in the name of 'Manipur black rice' on their official website.

Unarguably, GI tag has great potential to play a major role in trade and there is the possibility of preserving many traditional skills but helplessness of ACOAM-Lup to confront the UP government could be comprehended from the civil society turning its ire on the Monitoring Committee of Chak-hao and the Consortium of Chak-hao Growers asking both to furnish documentary proof on efficient capitalisation and implementation of the GI towards promoting the indigenous rice variety and enhancing its productivity.

With Manipur simply owning the GI tag but unable to make any significant progress on the production front, the Lup's frustration is tangible for Chak-hao cultivation in the UP district has been expanded to 6500 hectares at present from only 1500 hectares in 2017, when Chak-hao seeds were procured from Manipur to commence its plantation on trial basis.

With the UP government vigorously promoting cultivation of the unique rice variety under its 'one district one product' scheme, it wouldn't be long before many more farmers in India's most-populous state take up Chak-hao farming.

Apart from UP, there are also reports that Chak-hao Poireiton and Amubi varieties are gaining popularity among dwellers in Chennai city, which means possibility of the farmers of Tamil Nadu and adjoining states exploring cultivation ofthe same as the southern regions of India have better irrigation network and farming machineries.

That Manipur would be in no position to compete with these bigger states in the production of Chak-hao or any other agricultural crops could be gauged from the state facing a rather technically embarrassing situation of large scale flooding during the monsoons and acute shortage of the life giving gift of nature when dry season sets in.

Coupled with the absence of viable irrigation network depriving the state's farmers from taking up multiple cropping in a calendar year, it could be safely stated that receiving the GI status of Chak-hao will serve no real purpose until and unless the government steps in to ensure proper irrigational facilities round the year and provide other agricultural inputs required by the farmers in time.