Malihabadi Dussehri to sell with authentic stickers
Even before the mango trees start blossoming this season, the mango growers in the Lucknow Mango Belt are getting active to harvest advantages that the patent could give it. Pankaj Jaiswal reports.
Even before the mango trees start blossoming this season, the mango growers in the Lucknow Mango Belt are getting active to harvest advantages that the patent could give it. The globally famous variety of Dussehri from the belt got patented under Geogriphical Indication (GI) Act this summer. However, no further steps were taken to cash in on the GI status.
It is likely that from next season, the mangoes from the belt would have registration printed on the cartons and each mango too might have stickers of brand authenticity on them.
“Now our mango variety has attainted the status of a brand and we are looking for ways to add ‘brand’ value to our mangoes in as many ways as possible,” said Insram Ali, president of All India Mango Growers Association (AIMGA).
He said that AIMGA and UP government would meeting the National Horticulture Board (NHB) in Delhi next month to discuss how to implement the GI Act for the advantage of the mango from the Lucknow Mango Belt.
It took two years for the association and UP government to get GI registration for the Dussehri mangoes. The National Horticulture Board (NHB) got the Dussehri registered under the Geographical Indication (GI) Act with the GI Registrar. The registration was done for better marketing and visibility in the international market. NHB argued hard before a GI committee for registration to the variety.
Dussehri is primarily grown in the Malihabad region of Lucknow district in Uttar Pradesh and it is the original one. But growers in some other regions of UP too sell their varieties as Dussehri which is detrimental both to the growers as well as the consumers (for they get cheated).
Malihabadi Dussehri grows in Lucknow Mango Belt which is spread over three blocks of Lucknow—Mall, Malihabad and Kakori.
The GI Registration was granted to the variety after a lot of study, research and history of the variety by experts. The registration, if used well, would prevent the possible duplication of the Dussehri brand and will make it recognisable for better marketing.
"This registration would help fetch better prices by creating more demand for the variety in national and international market,” said Ali. The association had been hard selling the variety in Gulf countries and Singapore.
Box
GI registration is an insignia on products having a unique geographical origin and evolution over centuries. It is a mark of authenticity and helps in quick brand recall in marketing. The patent is governed by the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and protection) Act, 1999. Recently, Banarsi saris too got the GI registration.