Entry of new basmati variety angers Pakistan
Large scale farming of pusa 1121, the latest entrant on the list of basmati varieties, in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, may cause more resentment in rival Pakistan, which has already opposed India’s change in basmati definition.
By PTI |
NEW DELHI: Large scale farming of pusa 1121, the latest entrant on the list of basmati varieties, in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, may cause more resentment in rival Pakistan, which has already opposed India���s change in basmati definition. Both the countries have decided to meet early next year, possibly by February, to sort out the definition of basmati for joint registration under geographical indication (GI), industry sources said.
���The sharp differences between both the sides came to the fore when they met in Islamabad early this month to sort out issues relating to the change in the definition of basmati by India,��� they said. Any commodity or goods, if registered under GI, helps in marketing because they cannot be produced anywhere other than the specified geographical location.
Scientists of both countries will meet either in January or February in New Delhi and try to sort out the differences, a source involved in the negotiations said.
Pusa 1121 is cultivated outside the Indo-Gangetic plains ���in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. While there is a large area under pusa 1121 in Uttar Pradesh, about 1 000 acres are under pusa 1121 in Karnataka and about 500 acres in Andhra Pradesh, the sources said. Pakistan fears that India may gain advantage in terms of rise in output if the change in the definition is accepted. Only these two countries grow basmati.
While notifying pusa 1121 on October 29 as a basmati variety, the agriculture ministry had said it would be called basmati if the seed was grown in Punjab, Haryana or Delhi.
However, this clause was not there in 2005 when pusa 1121 was notified as a non-basmati variety.Experts say basmati rice will have all the specified characteristics like aroma and elongation if it is grown only in select regions in these two countries. India grows basmati mainly in Punjab and Haryana, while it is also cultivated in Punjab province in Pakistan.
The government cannot stop farmers in other parts from growing pusa 1121 as it fetches higher prices in the market. ���But when there will be a distinction officially made on the basis of cultivation areas, prices will also vary,��� a rice miller in Karnataka said.
���The sharp differences between both the sides came to the fore when they met in Islamabad early this month to sort out issues relating to the change in the definition of basmati by India,��� they said. Any commodity or goods, if registered under GI, helps in marketing because they cannot be produced anywhere other than the specified geographical location.
Scientists of both countries will meet either in January or February in New Delhi and try to sort out the differences, a source involved in the negotiations said.
Pusa 1121 is cultivated outside the Indo-Gangetic plains ���in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. While there is a large area under pusa 1121 in Uttar Pradesh, about 1 000 acres are under pusa 1121 in Karnataka and about 500 acres in Andhra Pradesh, the sources said. Pakistan fears that India may gain advantage in terms of rise in output if the change in the definition is accepted. Only these two countries grow basmati.
While notifying pusa 1121 on October 29 as a basmati variety, the agriculture ministry had said it would be called basmati if the seed was grown in Punjab, Haryana or Delhi.
However, this clause was not there in 2005 when pusa 1121 was notified as a non-basmati variety.Experts say basmati rice will have all the specified characteristics like aroma and elongation if it is grown only in select regions in these two countries. India grows basmati mainly in Punjab and Haryana, while it is also cultivated in Punjab province in Pakistan.
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The earlier definition had also provided that any evolved variety should have an immediate linkage with a traditional variety. Before pusa 1121 was declared basmati there were six traditional varieties and two hybrids. However, farm scientists say that pusa 1121 is such a variety that it does not lose its characteristics even if grown in places other than the specified Indo-Gangetic plains. The government cannot stop farmers in other parts from growing pusa 1121 as it fetches higher prices in the market. ���But when there will be a distinction officially made on the basis of cultivation areas, prices will also vary,��� a rice miller in Karnataka said.
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