Even three years after Gulbarga tur got a Geographical Indication (GI) tag, the growers are reluctant to register for the certificate as 'authorised user' to sell their dal under a brand name.
Lack of awareness and lengthy documentation process for registration have been keeping farmers away from availing of such a benefit. An official of Krishi Vignana Kendra (KVK) said despite the best efforts to create awareness among the farmers about the GI tag and holding meetings with Farmers' Producer Organisations (FPOs), the response from tur growers is poor. Hence, State Pulses Board has taken an initiative to convince the growers through FPOs to apply for the certificate of authorised user of GI tag.
About 16 large scale growers have applied for the certificate on March 31 after the KVK issued the No Objection Certificate (NOC) and their registration has been published in the GI journal now. They will get the certificate by the end of this month, he explained.
Small land owners who grow tur will not apply for certificate as processing cost will be high and profit will be less. They will get benefit only if they tie up with the millers. This apart, the farmers have to furnish several documents including land rights copy, Aadhaar card and soil testing certificate. Hence, they stay away from applying for the certificate, the official explained.
The tur dal millers can't directly apply for the certificate. They have to get registered in the name of the farmers for which the growers have to furnish the documents. Due to the competition, small growers could not brand and market their produce after processing. They have to tie up with the millers or should join cluster. The authorised proprietors will be University of Agriculture Sciences, Raichur and State Pulses Board, he explained.
Jagadevappa Patil, a tur grower, said he is unaware of the GI tag that was received for tur grown in the district.
Farmer leader Basavaraj Ingin said, "as we grow quality tur, it got GI tag. We initially made a futile bid to get the growers to apply for the certificate. Now, we are trying to convince them through the FPOs to join the cluster so that they can get a competitive price for their produce under the brand name. It will take time."
Millers will not come forward to purchase tur from the authorised users because they get less profit from the quality tur. Forms are printed and are being distributed among the growers. The efforts will yield fruits in three to four years, he added.