Alphonso or Hapus mango growers along Maharashtra's Konkan coast have raised concerns after two universities in Gujarat applied for a Geographical Indication tag for the Valsad Hapus variety. Opposition parties in Maharashtra have asked the state government to intervene, according to reporting by Hindustan Times.
The Alphonso or Hapus mango from the Konkan belt received its GI status in 2018. Growers became concerned after learning that Navsari Agricultural University and Gandhinagar University had applied for the same recognition for Valsad Hapus under the One District One Product initiative in 2023. NCP SP MLA Rohit Pawar stated on X that "there is a threat to the recognition of Konkan Hapus" and noted that the mango supports livelihoods across the region. Pawar wrote that "Hapus from Konkan is in demand across the world, and the farmers here have protected it with great effort. Hapus is their livelihood. The largest economic turnover in Konkan happens through Hapus mangoes."
Growers in Konkan have also questioned the use of the name Hapus for the Valsad variety. Ajeet Gogate, founder president of Devgad Taluka Mango Growers Cooperative Societies Limited in Sindhudurg district, said, "They can ask for any other name, for instance, 'Valsad mango'; why do they want it to be recognised as 'Hapus'?" He added that growers will monitor whether the GI Registry schedules final hearings and will request state government intervention, stating the issue concerns "the livelihood of Konkan farmers." Gogate said the proposed use of the name could affect the identity and equity of Konkan produce.
A letter written earlier this year by Valsad BJP MP Dhaval Patel to Union minister of commerce and industry Piyush Goyal stated that proponents of the application "want the Navsari and Valsad to be included as part of the Konkan region, given their geographical alignment with the coastal Sahyadri region along the Konkan coast."
Source: The Wire
