To protect the authenticity of Lakadong turmeric from the Jaintia Hills region of the State, the Geographical Indication (GI) tag was initiated in the year 2019 and after a series of hearings and clarifications, the Registrar of GI in Chennai officially awarded the GI tag number 741 to Lakadong turmeric for East Jaintia Hills and West Jaintia Hills districts on November 29, 2023.
This was stated by Agriculture Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh while replying to the zero hour notice brought by Nongkrem MLA Ardent M. Basaiawmoit on the need to protect the ownership of Lakadong turmeric.
According to Lyngdoh, taking advantage of the default organic nature of Lakadong turmeric and its high curcumin content, a number of market players have been making inroads into the villages of Jaintia Hills to source the Lakadong turmeric.
“This has led to a concerning trend of mislabeling and marketing the turmeric products from other regions and states as ‘Lakadong Turmeric’,” she said.
It was reported that various buyers were engaged in the procurement of Lakadong Turmeric seeds for undertaking production in other states and further selling it as ‘Lakadong Turmeric’ which creates consumer confusion and tarnishes the image, quality, and unique characteristics of Lakadong turmeric.
“Consequently, this can lead to brand dilution and significant financial losses for the Lakadong Turmeric farmers. Taking cognizance of this issue, a notification was issued by the department prohibiting the sale of Lakadong Turmeric seeds for production outside of the Jaintia Hills region,” Lyngdoh said.
She also mentioned that Meghalaya’s Lakadong turmeric is one of the finest varieties of turmeric in the world and is grown exclusively in the Jaintia Hills region, with significant involvement of women farmers and entrepreneurs in its cultivation and processing, over 13,000 farmers from 124 villages covering 2,130 hectares of land are engaged in the cultivation of this miracle spice.
Lakadong turmeric is considered to be one of the world’s best varieties of turmeric, with curcumin content up to 12 per cent, outshining other turmeric varieties which typically contain only 2-3 per cent curcumin.
This high-curcumin content enhances the health-aiding and culinary attributes of Lakadong turmeric, making it highly sought after in national and global markets, especially in the post-Covid era.
“The high curcumin content is a result of the favourable soil and climatic conditions of the region surrounding the villages and the tender care given to the crop by the farmers,” Lyngdoh said.
She also said that in order to bring about positive changes in the value chain of Lakadong turmeric, the Meghalaya government launched the Mission Lakadong for holistic value chain development. The mission supported farmers through capacity building, technology adoption and access to remunerative markets.
“The interventions enabled a sustainable transition towards a more equitable and remunerative income generation option for the turmeric farmers of the State. These interventions helped the Lakadong turmeric to stand out and garnered much attention from all fronts, leading to high demand from both national and global markets,” Lyngdoh added.
The minister said that the application for GI tag was made by Lakadong Turmeric Cooperative Union Limited, Jowai and facilitated by the Directorate of Horticulture, Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
“The GI status accorded to Lakadong turmeric stands to safeguard traditional methods and knowledge, ensuring that only farmers and growers within the designated geographical area, utilising traditional methods, can use the GI tag. The tag also serves as a unique selling point for farmers and sellers to differentiate their products in the market, potentially leading to higher prices and increased demand, especially in niche markets and lucrative markets for high-quality products,” Lyngdoh said.
