Scientists conduct field study for securing GI tag to Armur Turmeric

Hyderabad: A scientific team has conducted a field study on the unique features of turmeric locally grown in the Armur area of the Nizamabad district to identify its potential to get a Geographical Indication (GI) tag.

On Wednesday, aided by the NABARD, a team of scientists led by Dr Pidigam Saidaiah, Principal Investigator of the Armur turmeric project from the Konda Laxman Telangana

Horticultural University along with scientists B Mahender, P Srinivas from Kammarapalli Turmeric Research Station and Nizamabad NABARD DDM Praveen Kumar, met to study the geographical indication of Armur turmeric.

The information required for applying for geographical identification of Armur, climatic conditions, soil characteristics, unique characteristics of this variety, history of cultivation of Armur turmeric, documentary evidence, were discussed and collected in progress in detail.

The turmeric varieties cultivated in the turmeric growing areas of Armur were visited and the uniqueness of the varieties cultivated was observed. If turmeric gets geographical identification, exports will increase, marketing opportunities for this variety across the country will also increase and premium and higher prices will also be available to the Armur variety in the market, said Dr Pidigam Saidaiah, the principal investigator of the project. The visiting team of scientists said that an application will be made to the office of the Intellectual Property Rights Centre, headquartered in Chennai, to obtain a geographical identification tag. The team members said that the application will be submitted in the coming three to four months. Soon, DNA profiling of this variety, description of its characteristics, and their samples will be examined and studied in the laboratory, said Pidigam Saidaiah.