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After pineapple, Tripura eyes GI tags for shidol, orange, scented lemon.
Dec 05, 2023

The Tripura government has decided to apply for the Geographical Indication certification of some unique product that includes the famed fermented fish product, locally called Shidol, oranges grown in areas like Jampuijala and Killa and scented lemons that are grown in the plain lands of the state.

Speaking exclusively to EastMojo, a top official of the state government said, 'The list also includes Peda, a sweet dish that is offered to Maa Tripura Sundari, the indigenous scarf Hrisha and several other crops that are being cultivated here for a long period of time. Some of the products, such as Shidol (The fermented fish) is a unique food traditionally consumed by the people of hilly areas. In Tripura, this particular product has become an integral part of Bengali and tribal food culture. And different varieties of this fermented fish are now found here.'

Usually, Shidol is made through a complex process. A specific variety of fish called Puti, or Pungtius, is stuffed inside large earthen pots. After that, the pot is left inside the earthen surface for a particular period of time before the fish develops the smell and taste.

Recently, a senior Fishery official of Tripura has developed a different way of preparing Shidol in smaller earthen pots. This specific variety of Shidol is called Langi Berma.

'Berma is the Kokborok name of Shidol. The word Langi is used here because the pot in which this variety of Shidol is prepared is actually used for brewing of Langi, one of the most popular variants of rice beer brewed in the houses of indigenous households,' senior scientific officer of Tripura Fisheries Department Raju Lal Debbarma said.

On oranges and scented lemon, Tripura Agriculture Minister Ratan Lal Nath said, 'These two crops are considered as one of the most profit-making crops of all time. This is why the government is very eager to get them GI tagged. Apart from that we are also planning to set up a center of excellence for citrus fruits here in Tripura where Israeli agricultural technologies will be devised for enhancing harvest'.

'I have personally met two farmers—Bodhicharan Molsom and Birendra Kaloi—who had earned Rs 9,70,000 thousand and Rs 15,18,000 respectively through oranges. There was a time when orange was essentially a product of Jampui Hills, our state’s only hill station, but now the hotspots of this crops are shifted to Jampuijala in Sepahijala district and Killa in Gomati district. We have helped 224 farmers of Kill area with Rs 20,000 each under MIDS scheme to take care of their orange plantations,' said Nath. He said that 91 hectares of new orange plantations will come up across the state out of which 35 Hectares will be at Killa.

According to Nath, a team of four experts from ICAR-Central Citrus Research Institute visited Jampui Hills to ascertain as to why the farmers of the area lost interest in orange cultivation. It was found that some other agricultural crops are giving better results there which prompted everyone to switch to the more profitable crop.

The orange variety that is produced in Tripura is Khasi Mandarin. Very soon the application for GI tagging of the crop will be filed by the state government.

eastmojo.com

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