Research team ready to apply for arecanut patents

Team Udayavani, Dec 22, 2018, 8:36 AM IST

Puttur: The Agriculture Marketing and Research team has decided to apply for arecanut patents and this comes has a good news to arecanut cultivators in a situation where there is a building pressure to ban gutkha.

The Agriculture Marketing and Research team under the leadership of agriculture marketing scholar Dr Vigneshwara Varmudi has decided to apply for arecanut patent at the 3 days long convention that took place at Sagara in connection to arecanut marketing and cultivation recently.

Patent for 368 products

Already 368 agriculture products have received patents in India. Currently, more than 80 agriculture and commercial products in Karavali do not have patents.

Countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and a few countries in Africa which also cultivate arecanut have not yet applied for patents in connection to arecanuts. Once an application is submitted, it will be subjected to inspection for a period of a year. Based on the submitted application the institution which gives the patent will publish a notification. During this time, the pros and cons of arecanut, the report from the labs, complains, for and against discussions will be held and finally the patent will be provided.

The arecanuts which grow in Karavali Karnataka and the Malenadu are unique in its taste, quality and size. It has been decided that the patent will be applied for based on the aecanut’s quality and importance.

If Malenadu’s arecanut’s are known for their quality, the arecanuts grown in the Karavali important as commercial products.

Several profits

If the arecanut patent is given to India, there are several profits associated with it. There will be a rise in price for arecanut market, can be marketed as a brand and action can be taken by the government to protect the prices for the arecanut cultivators. Arecanut too will gain an importance and respect in the market.

“If our Agriculture Marketing and Research team applies for the patent along with the government, then the patents may be provided sooner. Already a round of discussion has been held in regard to putting application for patents and decision has been taken. The application will be submitted after getting a complete report from the commercial and marketing researches,” said Dr Vigneshwara Varmudi, agriculture marketing scholar