Pokkali rice is now a brand name
Category: Rice News, Rice Culture & Wisdom, Intellectual Property RightsThe rice has received Geographical Indication Registration. The registration will prevent others from using the brand name; It will enhance the market value of the rice.
Thrissur: The pokkali rice, the traditional salt resistant variety, cultivated in the coastal regions of Ernakulam, Alappuzha and Thrissur districts, has received Geographical Indication registration from the Geographical Indications Registry Office, Chennai. With the G.I. registration, the pokkali farmers will get exclusive right to cultivate and market it in the brand name of ‘Pokkali’.
The registration will prevent others from using the brand name and enhance the market value of ‘Pokkali’ brand rice, according to the Kerala Agricultural University sources.
The G.I. registration was received after concerted efforts for two years by Kerala Agricultural University, Department of Agriculture, Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment and pokkali paddy farmers, the KAU sources said.
Pokkali farmers use traditional symbiotic method for farming. The paddy is cultivated in the pokkali tracts during the low saline phase. Since it is cultivated organically, pokkali rice has a high market value.
Many medicinal properties are also attributed to this rice. Pokkali rice is globally well-known for its salt-resistant genes.
Even a DNA library has been developed by the University of Arizona, USA, for the rice.
Aranmula Mirror, Palakkadan Matta rice, Njavara rice, Malabar pepper, Alappuzha Cardamom, Alappuzha Coir, Malabar Monsooned Arabica Coffee and Malabar Monsooned Robusta coffee are other prominent products of the State that have got protection under Geographical Indications Registration Act.
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