The tag will in the long run help the farmers and manufacturers of the district get a better price for the brand in the market.
Kalaburagi: Soon the “Gulbarga Tur Dal” could receive the Geographical Indication (GI) tag, giving Kalaburagi district, often called the “Red Gram Bowl” of Karnataka, a feather in its cap. Of the nine lakh hectares devoted to tur dal in the state, 3.75 lakh hectares are found in Kalaburagi alone.
Seeing the distinct features of the tur dal cultivated in the region owing to its unique soil and climatic conditions, the University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur, the Karnataka Red Gram Development Board and the Intellectual Property Facilitation Centre (IPFC), Hyderabad, have filed an application for the tag with the Geographical Indications Registry.
And going by the Dean of Agriculture, Dr Jayaprakash Patil and Senior Agriculture Scientist, Raju Teggalli, the Gulbarga Tur Dal could get the tag within a month.
“The tur dal grown here has a unique aroma and taste, which is lacking in tur dal grown in rest of the country or even the world. The variety grown here takes less time to cook as well when compared to tur dal grown elsewhere,” explains Dr Patil.
The tag will in the long run help the farmers and manufacturers of the district get a better price for the brand in the market, according to Mr Teggalli. This year Kalaburagi district is expected to produce about 40 lakh tonnes of tur dal.
