A conclave organised here recently to create awareness of the need to obtain Geographical Indication (GI) by bringing together stakeholders received a good response from the business community.
The meeting, organised by NABARD Madurai Agribusiness Incubation Forum with the support of the Thoothukudi district administration to enable GI ecosystem among stakeholders of GI products of Tamil Nadu, was an eye-opener to producers of area-specific products.
Over 300 GI tags have been given to various products across the country., Tamil Nadu has only 42 GI tags due to lack of awareness of the advantages of getting the all-important tag even as potential exists for over 100. It is because the associations, producers and artisans do not know the process of pre-GI registration, post-GI schemes, subsidies and filing for authorised users. Moreover, marketing trends have changed with the advent of social media and market influencers, which is yet to penetrate traditional businesses.
Hence, Assistant Collector (Training) Srutenjay Narayanan organised the conclave here that tried to bridge all the gaps by holding a meeting of all GI stakeholders. Over 500 people joined the conclave virtually from across Tamil Nadu and other States.
“GI tagged products associations, authorised users and producers of GI products of Tamil Nadu participated in the conclave, which provided them with the right platform for sharing the challenges faced by GI stakeholders. They interacted with Collector K. Senthil Raj and the local heads of various government agencies such as NABARD, APEDA, MSME, Spices Board on post-GI registration benefits and schemes,” said Mr. Srutenjay Narayanan.
Thoothukudi MP Kanimozhi launched the handbook on GI products of Tamil Nadu and the GI map of the State. She also launched the Blockchain-based traceability on GI tagged ‘Kovilpatti Kadali Mittai’, jointly developed by NABARD and MABIF (Madurai Agrobusiness Incubation Forum).
The conclave also highlighted the need for International GI tag filings, increasing the number of authorised user filings for the GI products and exploring more GI tags in Tamil Nadu considering the rich tradition and history of the State.
The sessions organised during the meeting threw light on hitherto neglected areas such as packaging, e-commerce and digital promotions. While Indian Institute of Packaging and NABARD MABIF Incubatee’s Shapers Studio explained in detail about the need for attractive and safe packaging, GI Pro presented innovative solutions for enriching the GI market potential and e- commerce platforms to market the products.
YouTuber Deepan Chakkravarthy demonstrated the need for digital promotions for GI and Varnik Systems and Solutions highlighted the field=level challenges in implementing traceability technology like Blockchain.
The conclave highlighted the relevance of having stakeholders’ meeting, provided key insights and the takeaways gave a way forward for the conclave, said Mr. Srutenjay Narayanan.
Chief General Manager of NABARD T. Venkatakrishna, Assistant General Managaer Suresh Ramalingam, Dr. Senthil Raj, Corporation Commissioner T. Charusree, Additional Collector V. Saravanan, Superintendent of Police L. Balaji Saravanan, Thoothukudi Corporation Mayor N.P. Jegan and others participated in the conclave.
