Three GI tagged
products, supported by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD)
and Arunachal Pradesh Government, are being showcased for the first time in the
ongoing 42nd India International Trade Fair (IITF) in Delhi’s Pragati Maidan, said
officials.
An official in
Itanagar said the three Geographical Indication (GI) tagged products –
Arunachal Pradesh Khamti Rice, Yak Churpi, and Tangsa Textiles – have received
the reputed GI tag this year with national GI technical facilitator and expert
Dr Rajnikant the key person spearheading the registration of these prominent
and unique products.
Indian Council of
Agricultural Research-National Research Centre on Yak (NRCY) Director, Dr Mihir
Sarkar said that the Khamti Rice and Yak Churpi are the first agriculture and
food products and Tangsa Textile, the second textile product of Arunachal Pradesh,
to have obtained GI certification.
This provides a
better opportunity for generating livelihood and income through expanding both
the national and international marketability of the product by assured
authenticity and quality products supplied to consumers, he said.
Sarkar said Khamti
rice is a chewy sticky rice variety cultivated in the Namsai region of
Arunachal by Khampti tribal farmers. The rice is unique and used by the locals
for preparations of various traditional delicacies.
The Yak Churpi is
a fermented home-made, casein-based cottage cheese like product prepared from
raw skimmed and fermented yak milk of the Arunachali yak breed.
Owing to its
uniqueness and potential for socio-economic upliftment of its producers,
ICAR-NRC on Yak, Dirang, under the guidance of Dr Sarkar took the task of
registering this product.
He considered the
GI tag of Yak Churpi to be a boon to the yak pastoralist which would help
increase the accessibility, authenticity and marketability of the product.
The Tangsa Textile
is the traditional craft product of the Tangsa tribe of Changlang district,
renowned for their unique exotic designs and vibrant colours reflecting the
cultural richness of the region.
The Himalayan Yak
has also got the food animal tag from the Food Safety and Standards Authority
of India (FSSAI), under the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare in
November last year.
Ladakh and Jammu
and Kashmir have the largest population of around 26,000 Yaks, followed by
around 24,000 in Arunachal Pradesh, mostly in Tawang and West Kameng districts,
5,000 in Sikkim, 2,000 in Himachal Pradesh and around 1,000 in North Bengal
(West Bengal) and Uttarakhand.
Agency
