Konkan Hapus growers jump on GI tag, technology to protect their produce | Pune News

Mango growers from the Konkan region of Maharashtra have jumped big on the GI bandwagon with the region having cornered 1,845 GI tags for growers, processors and traders of the Hapus mango. Mukund Joshi, secretary of the Hapus Amba Utpadak Vikreta Sahakari Sangh said this would be the highest number of GI tags issued for individual products in the country.

Joshi said the GI tag of Hapus mango is reserved for the fruit which is produced in five districts of Konkan — Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri, Raigad, Palghar and Thane. Known for its delicate flavour and colouring, growers say that other than them no one else is allowed to use the tag of Hapus for their mangoes. The Sangh which is a cooperative body of growers and sellers of the fruit had initiated action against infringement on the term of Hapus which is being used for mangoes grown in Karnataka and other regions of Maharashtra as well. “GI (geographical indication) applies to agricultural goods which are produced in a particular region only. Thus if it is used to brand goods sourced from other region it would be an infringement,” he said. The Sangh has been helping its members and fellow farmers to apply and get GI tags for their fields. “Boxes of mangoes which are sourced from our region have the QR codes scanning which one can get the details of farm and the GI tag,” he said.

Hapus growers in the state have asked market committees and the state marketing board to take measures to stop infringement of the brand Hapus. Meanwhile many farmers and farmer producer companies have used technology to ensure their buyers are assured of the quality of the fruit they are buying. Nishikant Patil and Harshal Jarande directors of Regional Roots Private Limited said they are sourcing Hapus mangoes from 21 farmers from Devgad taluka of Sindhudurg district and 12 other farmers from Ratnagiri district. “Our aim is to ensure the gap between farmers and the customer is reduced. The customer should get value for his money and the farmer manages to get the best for his produce,” they said. The company says their boxes have QR codes which helps the customer to get the details of the orchard from where the mangoes are sourced.

At the mango festival of MahaFPC, the boxes have full traceability with details like date of harvest and packing also encrypted on their QR code. Yogesh Thorat, managing director of MahaFPC said they aim to ensure growers get better prices for their produce.

Partha Sarathi Biwas is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express with 10+ years of experience in reporting on Agriculture, Commodities and Developmental issues. He has been with The Indian Express since 2011 and earlier worked with DNA. Partha’s report about Farmers Producer Companies (FPC) as well long pieces on various agricultural issues have been cited by various academic publications including those published by the Government of India. He is often invited as a visiting faculty to various schools of journalism to talk about development journalism and rural reporting. In his spare time Partha trains for marathons and has participated in multiple marathons and half marathons. … Read More

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