After the famous Kashmiri saffron bagged the Geographical Indication (GI) tag last month, farmers are hopeful that they will now get a better price for their produce.
A GI or Geographical Indication is a name or a sign given to certain products that relate to a specific geographical location or origins like a region, town, or country.
GI Tag ensures that none other than those registered as authorized users are allowed to use the popular product name. In order to function as a GI, a sign must identify a product as originating in a given place.
With the GI tag, saffron growers and traders will get more benefits like legal protection to the products, prevention of unauthorized use of GI tag products by others. It will help consumers to get authentic quality products of desired traits.
"Now that we have been identified as a GI, this would benefit farmers immensely. We now have an identity. With this, we would be able to get a good price for the saffron we produce here," Dr Mudasir Hafiz Khan, Assistant Professor Saffron Research Centre told .
"This GI stamp is our identity and the stamp would be proof that the saffron is from Kashmir," he added.
Expressing his happiness over the GI tag, a saffron grower said that role of middlemen will be over as it will be traded directly in international markets. "Its prices will also rise which will benefit us."
He said that with the GI tag, adulteration in saffron would also come to an end.
( With inputs from ANI )