The Geographic Index (GI) certificate for the famous ‘Authoor betel leaf’ was formally handed over to the farmers here on Thursday.
As the GI tag is being given since 2002 by the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industries to the products, which are either produced or cultivated in a particular place and quite popular among the consumers, this recognition gives an identity and credibility to these products in the new markets, especially in foreign markets. In this line, farm produces, foods, snacks, handicrafts, handloom products etc. from Tamil Nadu have bagged this recognition in the past and 11 more new products like honey from Marthandam, ‘murukku’ from Manappaarai and betel leaf from Authoor have been given the GI tag.
After applying for GI tag in 2020, the ‘Authoor Betel’, which is quite popular among the public for its additional alkali taste and digestion enhancing property due to the soil conditions, water quality and humidity in Authoor region, won the identity in April last to pave way for the export of this leaf to foreign markets.
Even though the ‘Authoor Betel’ has got its fans across Tamil Nadu and other States, the area of cultivation of this plant in Authoor region has come down from 900 acres to just 350 acres in the past 15 years. The area of cultivation of betel in Auythoor area has shrunk sharply due to the high cost of agro inputs, shortage of farmhands and other reasons.
“When we cultivated betel on 900 acres here, we were harvesting 15 tonnes of leaf everyday which has come down to just two tonnes a day now,” say the farmers.
Though the farmers of Authoor cultivate ‘Chakkai’, ‘Maaththu’, ‘Raasi’ and ‘Sanna Ragam’ betel leaf varieties, ‘Chakkai’ and ‘Maaththu’ varieties enjoy excellent market in Indore, Jaipur, Bhopal, Delhi, Mumbai, Agra, Bengaluru, Nellor and Thiruvananthapuram. Another major reason for the consumers and traders preferring the Authoor betel is its shelf life which is 10 days.
After winning hearts across the country and ultimately the GI tag, the Authoor betel growers have now set their eyes high on value-addition like ‘betel juice’ and bagging orders from foreign markets as the GI tag for Authoor betel makes this process easier.
Handing over the GI certificate to the betel leaf farmers of Authoor in the presence of District Collector K. Senthil Raj on Thursday, MP Kanimozhi said researches should be conducted to scientifically prove the medicinal properties of Authoor betel leaf.
She also informed that efforts were on to get GI tag for Muthaloor Muscoth Halwa, Vilaathikulam ‘gundu’ chilli, Thoothukudi macroon and Udangudi palm jaggery.
Mayor Jegan Periyasamy, Additional Collector (Development) Thakare Shubham Dnyandeorao, Sub-Collector, Thoothukudi, Gaurav Kumar, District Revenue Officer Ajay Srinivasan and Deputy Collector (Training) M. Prabhu were present.
