SUMMARY
The National Research Centre for Grapes (NRC) plans to begin a huge branding...
The National Research Centre for Grapes (NRC) plans to begin a huge branding effort this season onwards, telling domestic consumers that the grapes purchased by them are 'residue free' . This means that grapes which have been certified by the laboratories approved by Apeda will henceforth bear a logo on the box which says the product is residue-free, said SD Sawant, director, NRC. Until now, this effort was restricted to grapes meant for export. Indian grapes have to undergo around seven laboratory tests before being considered eligible for European markets.
"Several consumers are not happy eating grapes since they fear that a lot of pesticides have gone into production of the crop. We want to remove this stigma," Sawant explained. Farmers are also realising that a certificate of this nature will help them get better returns, he said. NRC has written to Maharashtra State Grape Growers Association (MSGGA) seeking a tie-up on this effort and the association has responded positively.
According to Ashok Gaikwad, president of the association, the ‘residue-free’ logo will build up the image of farmers and enable them to make more money. The association has written to the Centre seeking subsidy on the certification process for a certain period, As of now, only farmers who export grapes get 50% subsidy on the certification process. While this is not mandatory, work can begin on a small percentage of the grape produce which can increase awareness among farmers. Gaikwad said work on the design of the logo has begun and the effort is likely to begin this harvest season, which starts from January.
Both NRC and the association have begun awareness programmes in Nashik, Satara, Sangli and Solapur, the main grape growing regions of Maharashtra, for farmers and will also tie up with Food Safety Standards Authority of India ( FSSAI). " I want to tell people that grape is the first crop in the country for which residue monitoring is done. Apeda has put in place a process to help Indian exporters on this issue. However, the farmers selling grapes in the domestic market also need to tell consumers that the quality of their product is good," Sawant said.
The National Research Centre for Grapes (NRC) plans to begin a huge branding effort this season onwards, telling domestic consumers that the grapes purchased by them are 'residue free' . This means that grapes which have been certified by the laboratories approved by Apeda will henceforth bear a logo on the box which says the product is residue-free, said SD Sawant, director, NRC. Until now, this effort was restricted to grapes meant for export. Indian grapes have to undergo around seven laboratory tests before being considered eligible for European markets.
"Several consumers are not happy eating grapes since they fear that a lot of pesticides have gone into production of the crop. We want to remove this stigma," Sawant explained. Farmers are also realising that a certificate of this nature will help them get better returns, he said. NRC has written to Maharashtra State Grape Growers Association (MSGGA) seeking a tie-up on this effort and the association has responded positively.
According to Ashok Gaikwad, president of the association, the ‘residue-free’ logo will build up the image of farmers and enable them to make more money. The association has written to the Centre seeking subsidy on the certification process for a certain period, As of now, only farmers who export grapes get 50% subsidy on the certification process. While this is not mandatory, work can begin on a small percentage of the grape produce which can increase awareness among farmers. Gaikwad said work on the design of the logo has begun and the effort is likely to begin this harvest season, which starts from January.
Both NRC and the association have begun awareness programmes in Nashik, Satara, Sangli and Solapur, the main grape growing regions of Maharashtra, for farmers and will also tie up with Food Safety Standards Authority of India ( FSSAI). " I want to tell people that grape is the first crop in the country for which residue monitoring is done. Apeda has put in place a process to help Indian exporters on this issue. However, the farmers selling grapes in the domestic market also need to tell consumers that the quality of their product is good," Sawant said.
Good effort for voluntary certification on Grapes similar to AGMARK
ReplyDelete