Charotar village earns patent for ginger, turmeric

Vadodara/ Anand: Innovators or institutes earning patents and intellectual property rights is common. But ever heard of an entire village securing the agri-products it grows?
Charotar, the lush green belt of Central Gujarat, is home to such a village – Boriavi – where farmers have got their traditional ginger and turmeric varieties registered in the name of the village.
The traditional spices gained popularity as immunity boosters in the Covid-19 pandemic have been registered with the support of Anand Agricultural University (AAU). “We have got the ‘Boriavi’ variety of ginger and turmeric registered from The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority, Government of India,” said Devesh Patel, 37-year-old IT graduate and an organic farmer who exports close to six tonnes of both spices to the US and Europe.
“Under The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act (PPVFRA) which introduced intellectual property protection in Indian agriculture, farmers as a community can get their important traditional crops registered. The ownership does not lie with an individual or a private firm but it is collective ownership of the village and the farmers who grow such crops,” he said, adding that collectively the farms have also been geo-tagged.
AAU’s in-charge vice-chancellor Dr RV Vyas said that Boriavi farmers have been growing ginger and turmeric having special quality traits for generations. “The varieties of the local ginger and turmeric grown in Boriavi has special quality traits for which the land races were registered by the PPVFRA, New Delhi,” he said. Close to 400 farmers in Boriavi are engaged in ginger and turmeric farming that it cultivated in nearly 80 hectares.
“The ginger grown in other regions has more fibres, which often results in waste. Ours is fibre-free with unique aroma,” said Amrish Patel, who took over farming from his father Jasbhai in 1980s.
The farmers are now giving a push to their local ‘Boriavi’ brand as it would also mean earning royalty. “The Boriavi turmeric has longer shelf life. It is full of aroma and is rich in oil content. Presently, we have been successful in increasing the demand in Gujarat. Once, we raise the demand internationally, it would mean generating additional income,” he said.