Today, Mr. Gopal Jee Thakur Member of Parliament, Darbhanga, Bihar has requested the house in Parliament for Mithila Makhana GI Tag. Not only Mister MP, there are many leaders and group of farmers are trying to get the GI Tag for the agricultural product Makhana also called Fox Nuts from many years. There were news that Makhana will be tagged as Bihar Makhana but now people of Mithila reason requesting the concerned authority to make it Mithila Makhana for simple reason that the 90% of Makhana of the world are produced by the farmer of Mithila.
What is GI Tag -
Let's first understand the term GI Tag, it stands for Geographical Indication Tag. The application filed by Bihar Agriculture University (BAU), Sabour, on behalf of Purnia-based Mithilanchal Makhana Utpadak Sangh (MMUS) for Makhana to be tagged as Bihar Makhana. Once it will be GI tagged then no other state will be able to claim this product.
Fifth Agricultural Product of Bihar to be GI Tagged -
State Bihar have already got GI tagged and registered four products - Sahi Lichi, Jardalu Aam, Magahi Paan and Katarni Rice. So If Makhana gets GI tag, It will be fifth GI tagged for the state Bihar.
Benefits of Getting a GI Tag
After getting the GI tag, Makhana can be marketed from anywhere in the world. It will benefit the makhana growing farmers of the state Bihar as they will get a global market and new identity. Talking about the history Makhana is the historical product of Mithila. We hope it will be GI tagged on the Mithila Makhana soon and after tag this will have a direct impact on farmer income. If the Makhana is GI Tagged as Bihar Makhana or Mithila Makhana. As per data- Madhubani, Darbhanga, Saharsa, Katihar, Purnia, Araria, Supaul, Sitamarhi and Kishanganj districts of Mithila region is the main centres for Makhana production.
As per latest update -
On 16th August 2022, Geographical Indication Registry, Chennai Government of India, awarded Geographical Indication Tag(GI Tag) to MITHILA MAKHANA.
