Rajasthan farmers object to GI on Unjha jeera and saunf

📌 Summary:

• Rajasthan's cumin (jeera) and fennel (saunf) farmers are protesting the grant of Geographical Indication (GI) tags for ‘Unjha Jeera’ and ‘Unjha Fennel’, registered in the name of the Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) of Unjha in Gujarat's Mehsana district
• Core objection: Unjha is a trading market, not a production hub — Gujarat's own data shows Mehsana had just 174 hectares under jeera (of the state's 4,76,537 ha) and 149 tonnes output (of 4,07,629 tonnes) in 2024-25; farmers ask how there can be an "Unjha Jeera" when the crop is barely grown there
• Rajasthan farmers travel long distances (e.g., 370 km) to sell in Unjha because it has more buyers, including major exporters, and offers better rates than nearer Rajasthan APMCs (Jodhpur, Merta)
• Fear of harm: farmers allege traders at the Unjha APMC will use the GI to beat down prices — branding Rajasthan produce as inferior and Unjha produce as premium
• Notified GI area is wide: the ‘Unjha Jeera’ certificate (issued March 28 by the GI Registry, Chennai) covers not just Mehsana but 14 other Gujarat districts (Banaskantha, Patan, Ahmedabad, Kutch, etc.)
• A Rajasthan saunf grower's ‘Abu Saunf-440’ variety is registered as a "farmers' variety" under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act and fetches a premium; growers fear the GI will undermine Rajasthan's spices

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS3 Economy — Geographical Indications and IPR in agriculture, agricultural marketing (APMC), and protection of farmers' interests and plant varieties.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• The GI Registry is located in Chennai; the ‘Unjha Jeera’ certificate was issued on March 28
• GI is an IPR distinct from the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights (PPV&FR) Act
• Unjha (Mehsana, Gujarat) is a major seed-spice trading market, not a production hub

🔑 Key Term: Geographical Indication (GI) — an IPR tag identifying a product as originating from a specific place, where a given quality or reputation is essentially attributable to that origin.