13 May GI registration of Cordi heirloom rice sought
Department of Agriculture-Cordillera, March 6, 2022, DA-CAR Press Release No. 22-017
#GICertification || Thirty-four (34) heirloom rice landraces (14 glutinous and 20 non-glutinous) comprise the Cordillera Heirloom Rice to be registered for Geographical Indication (GI) in the country as identified by the heirloom rice farmers and stakeholders in Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga, and Mountain Province.
The list of the heirloom rice landraces was finalized during the review of the Book of Specifications (BOS) of the Cordillera Heirloom Rice on March 30-31, 2022 which was facilitated by the Department of Agriculture-Cordillera (DA-CAR) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UN FAO).
The BOS is a requirement in the GI registration of the Cordillera Heirloom Rice, one of the two pilot projects once a national legal framework for GI is established in the country. According to FAO, the adoption of GI can support the better protection, promotion, and valorization of origin-linked products at the regional, national, and international levels.
With the numerous heirloom rice landraces from the four provinces, the farmers and stakeholders agreed to select landraces that have markets and were characterized during the DA-Heirloom Rice Project. The farmers and stakeholders agreed to collectively call them Cordillera Heirloom Rice. Further, as agreed by farmers and stakeholders, the other landraces will be included in the next GI registration.
The Province of Benguet identified ?????????, ?????????, ?????????, ?????, ??????? ??? ????????. The Province of Ifugao also identified nine landraces namely ??????, ??????????, ?????????, ????-??, ???’???, ????????, ??????, ?????????, and ???????. Eight landraces were identified by Kalinga namely ????/????????, ???????/????????/?????, ?????, ?????/?????, ???? ???, ???? ?????, ??????/?????/?????? ???, ?????/?????? ????? while Mountain Province ascertained 11 landraces. These are ???????/?????????, ??????/????????/?????????, ???????, ?????/?????, ????-????-??, ?????????/???????/????????, ??????, ?????, ??????, ????????, and ????? ???/?????????/??????/?????/ ?????? ???.
From the 34 heirloom rice landraces, there were 23 product types identified based on the endosperm type (glutinous and non-glutinous), milling, pigmentation, aroma, size, and shapes.
GI Consultant Stéphane Passeri said that the Philippines alongside other countries like Pakistan, Myanmar, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea, and Saudi Arabia have ongoing GI system legislation.
While the GI law is ongoing, efforts are already being done such as the BOS development and the establishment of the Cordillera Heirloom Rice Association in 2021 as a partner in the pursuit of Cordillera Heirloom Rice GI registration.
Meanwhile, to be trained as GI Portal Administrators, three staff from the DA-RFO CAR participated in the GI Portal Administration Training on April 5-7, 2022 in Davao City. They are being trained as GI Portal Administrators which is crucial in paving the path for GI Certification.
Eleanore Lantican, National Value Chain Governance Consultant of the UN FAO Philippines, further stated that the portal serves as a venue for promoting the authenticity of the products and services it originated, and to help in recognizing the Geographical Indications in the country. Through this, products and services registered as collective marks will receive protection and other benefits such as exclusive commercial rights, and the privilege to be registered as Geographical Indicator (GI) once the system is established in the country. // Sherry Antonio, Research Division
Photo courtesy of Research Division
